Content processing system, output device, content processing method, and content processing program
The content processing system addresses improper billing by detecting output defects and adjusting charges accordingly, ensuring financial accuracy.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- BROTHER KOGYO KK
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-02
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-18
Smart Images
Figure JP2025041963_18062026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Content processing system, output device, content processing method, and content processing program 【0001】 The present disclosure relates to a content processing system, an output device, a content processing method, and a content processing program that perform processing related to consideration claims for content output. 【0002】 Conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1 for example, when a service provider that has received a purchase request for media from a user receives an electronic copy of the media from a content provider, the number and size of advertisement information are determined according to the layout of the electronic copy, and a technique for soliciting bids from advertisement information providers is known. The service provider analyzes the bids from the advertisement information providers and selects the best bid. Selecting the best bid means determining the advertisement provider who is the winning bidder. The service provider enters the bid amount as a debit in the account of the advertisement provider who is the winning bidder, and enters a portion of the advertisement sales revenue obtained in a specific transaction as a credit in the account of the content provider. 【0003】 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-058632 【0004】 In the technique described in Patent Document 1, billing processing according to the bid amount is executed when the winning bidder is determined. However, for example, when the content of the winning bidder is output, there may be a case where a defect occurs in the output result of the content. In such a case, since it may be inappropriate to bill in the same manner as when there is no defect in the output result of the content, there has been room for consideration regarding the billing processing. 【0005】 An object of the present disclosure is to provide a content processing system, an output device, a content processing method, and a content processing program that can execute appropriate billing processing including cases where a defect occurs in the output result of the content. 【0006】To achieve the above objectives, this disclosure relates to the following technologies. The content processing system of this disclosure includes: a request unit that requests bids for content output; a receiving unit that receives bids in response to the request for bids; a decision unit that determines which bids to be awarded from among the bids received by the receiving unit; an acquisition unit that acquires specific content provided by a specific bidder of a bid determined to be awarded by the decision unit; an output unit that outputs a specific content image corresponding to the specific content acquired by the acquisition unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output by the output unit; and a billing unit that does not bill the specific bidder if the determination unit determines that there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image, and bills the bidder if the determination unit determines that there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image. 【0007】 In this disclosure, the judgment unit determines whether or not there is a defect in the output result of a specific content image output by the output unit. If the judgment unit determines that there is no defect, the billing unit bills the specific bidder who bid on the specific content. If the judgment unit determines that there is a defect, the billing unit does not bill the specific bidder. According to this disclosure, it is possible to reduce the amount of billing that occurs when there is a defect in the output result of the content, thereby enabling proper billing processing. 【0008】 The output device of this disclosure is an output device comprising a control unit, the control unit performs: an output process that outputs a specific content image corresponding to specific content provided by a specific bidder who is the successful bidder, determined from the content bidding results; a determination process that determines whether or not there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output in the output process; and a success / failure transmission process that, if the determination process determines that there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image, sends a failure notification to the specific bidder so as not to charge the consideration, and if the determination process determines that there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image, sends a success notification to the specific bidder so as to charge the consideration. 【0009】The content processing method of this disclosure is a content processing method executed by a content processing system, comprising: a request step of requesting bids for content output; a receiving step of receiving bids in response to the request for bids in the request step; a decision step of determining which bid to be awarded from the bids received in the receiving step; an acquisition step of acquiring specific content provided by the specific bidder of the bid determined to be awarded in the decision step; an output step of outputting a specific content image corresponding to the specific content acquired in the acquisition step; a determination step of determining whether or not there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output in the output step; and a billing step of not billing the specific bidder if it is determined in the determination step that there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image, and billing the bidder if it is determined in the determination step that there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image. 【0010】 The content processing program of this disclosure causes a computer to perform a request process to request bids for content output; a receiving process to receive bids in response to the bid requests in the request process; a decision process to determine which bid to be awarded from the bids received in the receiving process; an acquisition process to acquire specific content provided by the specific bidder of the bid determined to be awarded in the decision process; and a billing process which, if there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output corresponding to the specific content acquired in the acquisition process, does not charge the specific bidder, and charges the aforementioned fee if there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image. 【0011】 According to this disclosure, proper billing can be performed even when there are defects in the output results of the content. 【0012】This is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a content processing system according to an embodiment. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow performed collaboratively by the ad delivery server, ad management server, and printer. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow performed collaboratively by the ad delivery server, ad management server, and printer. This is an explanatory diagram showing how a sensor detects the position coordinates of both ends near the leading edge of the printing paper. This is an explanatory diagram showing how a sensor detects the position coordinates of both ends near the trailing edge of the printing paper. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for calculating the oblique angle of the printing paper. This is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for calculating the oblique angle of the printing paper. This is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the position of the printing paper and the printing position of the advertising image when the oblique angle is 0. This is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the position of the printing paper and the printing position of the advertising image when the oblique angle is θ1. This is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the position of the printing paper and the printing position of the advertising image when the oblique angle is θ2, which is greater than θ1. This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow performed collaboratively by the ad delivery server, ad management server, and printer in a modified example where the consideration for the payment has been executed is refunded. This sequence diagram illustrates an example of the processing flow performed collaboratively by the ad provider server, ad management server, and printer in a modified version where the payment for the completed transaction is refunded. 【0013】 Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment relates to a content processing system that distributes content from a server to a printer for printing. 【0014】<Overall Configuration of Content Processing System> Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of the content processing system 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the content processing system 1 includes an advertising 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. The multiple servers 100, 400, 500, the printer 200, and the terminal device 300 are each equipped with a communication unit and can communicate with each other via the network NT. The network NT includes one or more of the Internet, LAN (Local Area Network), and WAN (Wide Area Network). The communication unit may include multiple types of communication circuits for connecting to the network NT. In this case, devices connected to the network NT may communicate with multiple other devices using different communication circuits. In this embodiment, the collective term for multiple types of communication circuits is referred to as the communication unit. 【0015】 <Advertising Server> The advertising server 100 requests bids for advertisements, receives bids in response to the request, determines the winning bidder from the received bids, and obtains the advertisement image provided by the determined winning bidder. The advertising server 100 distributes a distribution image containing the acquired advertisement image and other information to the printer 200 and has it printed. The advertisement is an example of content, the winning bidder is an example of a specific bidder, and the advertisement image provided by the winning bidder is an example of specific content. 【0016】In detail, the advertising server 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 115, a communication unit 140, etc. The bus 105 connects the control unit 110, the storage unit 115, and the communication unit 140, etc., to enable information transmission and reception. The storage unit 115 is, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, etc. The storage unit 115 stores various programs 120 and various data 130. The various programs 120 include content processing programs executed by the advertising server 100 as shown in the flowcharts in Figures 2, 3, 11, and 12 described later. The various data 130 include the printer ID of the printer 200, user ID, advertising images, etc. 【0017】 The control unit 110 is a data processing device, 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, terminal device 300, user management server 400, and advertising management server 500, all connected to the network NT. The communication unit 140 includes hardware such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting to Ethernet. The communication unit 140 is connected to the network NT and communicates with the printer 200, terminal device 300, user management server 400, and advertising management server 500. The control unit 110 is an example of a computer. 【0018】<Ad Management Server> The ad management server 500 is a server managed and operated by, for example, an advertising company. The ad management server 500 transmits advertising images for printing by the printer 200 to the ad provision server 100. The ad management server 500 has a control unit, a storage unit, a communication unit, etc., similar to the ad provision server 100, and receives bid requests from the ad provision server 100 via the communication unit. Network NT connects the ad management server 500 to terminal devices or servers of multiple advertisers (not shown). The ad management server 500 acquires in advance advertising images, bid prices indicating the desired purchase price of advertising space, target users to whom the advertising images should be distributed, etc., from the terminal devices, etc., of multiple advertisers. The acquired information is then stored and managed in the storage unit. In response to bid requests from the ad provision server 100, the ad management server 500 executes an advertising auction and solicits bids. The ad management server 500 acquires bids from advertisers who have responded to the solicitation of bids. The ad management server 500 transmits the acquired bids to the ad provision server 100 as the bidding result in response to the bid request. At this time, the advertising management server 500 may send bids that meet the bidding conditions included in the bidding request as bidding results. The advertising provider server 100 receives the bidding results sent from the advertising management server 500 and selects the most suitable bid from among the bids included in the bidding results. For example, the advertising provider server 100 selects the bid with the highest price. The advertising provider server 100 then retrieves the advertising image of the bidder of the selected bid, i.e., the successful bidder advertiser, from among the multiple advertising images managed by the advertising management server 500. The advertising provider server 100 sends a distribution image based on the retrieved advertising image to the printer 200. The printer 200 prints the image based on the received distribution image onto the paper. 【0019】<Printer> The printer 200 prints the distribution image corresponding to the advertisement image obtained from the advertisement server 100 onto the printing paper. 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 mechanism 270, etc. The bus 205 connects the control unit 210, the storage unit 215, the display unit 240, the operation unit 250, the communication unit 260, and the printing mechanism 270 so that information can be sent and received. The printer 200 is an example of an output unit and an example of an output device, printing is an example of output, and the distribution image is an example of a specific content image. 【0020】 The storage unit 215 is, 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 causes the printer 200 to execute the processes shown in the flows in Figures 2, 3, 11, and 12 described later. The various data 230 include the aforementioned printer ID, advertising 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 unit 115. Alternatively, one of the printer 200 and the advertising server 100 may store some or all of the original data of the various data, and the other of the printer 200 and the advertising server 100 may store a copy of that original data. 【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, a touch panel, etc., and can display various information. The operation unit 250 is, for example, a keyboard, buttons, etc., 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 servers 100, 400, 500 and terminal devices 300. 【0022】The printing mechanism 270 includes a head 270A, a carriage on which the head 270A is mounted, a motor and belt for driving the carriage, and a transport mechanism 270B. The head 270A has nozzles for ejecting ink. The transport mechanism 270B takes the printing paper on which the advertising image will be 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 head 270A towards the printing paper transported by the transport mechanism 270B. Ink is an example of a liquid, and printing paper is an example of a sheet. 【0023】 The printing mechanism 270 has a maintenance unit 270C. The maintenance unit 270C performs maintenance to resolve nozzle ejection abnormalities of the head 270A. The maintenance unit 270C performs maintenance to resolve the ejection abnormality when the detection unit 275, described later, detects an ejection abnormality. After the ejection abnormality is resolved by the maintenance unit 270C, the printing mechanism 270 performs reprinting of the advertisement image. The maintenance unit 270C has, for example, a cap and a suction pump. The printer 200 operates the maintenance unit 270C to perform flushing or purging. Flushing is a process in which, with the carriage positioned at a predetermined flushing position before printing on the paper, ink is ejected from multiple nozzles provided by the head 270A, and the viscous ink inside the nozzles is discharged. Purge is a process in which a suction pump is connected to a capped nozzle and the suction pump is driven to suck and discharge the ink in the flow path of the head 270A from the nozzle. 【0024】The printing mechanism 270 has a sensor 270D. The sensor 270D detects the position of the edges of the printing paper being transported by the transport mechanism 270B. The sensor 270D is provided, for example, on the carriage on which the head 270A is mounted. The sensor 270D detects the position of the edges of the printing paper by moving the carriage while the transport mechanism 270B is transporting the printing paper. The sensor 270D is a non-contact sensor capable of detecting the edges of the printing paper, and is, for example, an ultrasonic sensor or an optical sensor. Based on the detection result of the sensor 270D, the control unit 210 determines that a defect has occurred in the printing of the advertising image if the lengths of both ends of the printing paper are outside a predetermined range including a reference value. Note that both ends of the printing paper may be both ends of the printing paper in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing paper, i.e., the right end and left end of the printing paper, or both ends of the printing paper in the transport direction of the printing paper, i.e., the front end and rear end of the printing paper. 【0025】 The detection unit 275 detects an ejection abnormality of the head 270A. The detection unit 275 detects the ejection abnormality by, for example, optical detection or a piezoelectric element. Optical detection is a method of detecting non-ejection or deviation in the ejection direction by irradiating light onto the ink droplets ejected and flying from the nozzle and detecting the presence or absence and intensity of the reflected light. The inkjet method is a printing method that utilizes the inverse piezoelectric effect of a piezoelectric element, deforming the piezoelectric element by applying voltage, and ejecting ink droplets with the pressure wave generated. Detection using a piezoelectric element is a method of detecting ejection defects from the waveform by utilizing the reflection of the pressure wave generated for ink ejection within the pressure chamber, and converting the deformation of the piezoelectric element due to this reflected wave into a voltage signal by the piezoelectric effect. When the detection unit 275 detects an ejection abnormality of the nozzle, the control unit 210 determines that there is a defect in the printing result of the advertisement image. For example, the control unit 210 calculates the percentage of pins among the nozzle's multiple pins that have been detected as having ejection defects by the detection unit 275, and determines that there is a defect in the printed result of the advertisement image if this percentage is above a threshold. The control unit 210 may set the threshold to a fixed value or dynamically change it as needed. 【0026】The printer 200 is equipped with multiple cartridge holders 280, each holding one cartridge 285. The cartridges 285 are, for example, cartridges with multiple ink colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. 【0027】 The printing mechanism 270 performs printing while consuming the ink in the cartridge 285. The cartridge holder 280 is equipped with a reader / writer 290. The reader / writer 290 reads and writes cartridge information to the 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 from 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 with the reader / writer 290. 【0028】 <Terminal Device> The terminal device 300 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user, and in this example connects 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 has a display unit, control unit, operation unit, memory unit, communication unit, etc. (not shown). The memory unit stores various programs. The control unit executes the various programs stored in the memory unit. The user can input various instructions to the terminal device 300 by operating the operation unit. 【0029】 <User Management Server> The user management server 400 manages user information via the terminal device 300. The user management server 400 includes a control unit (not shown), a storage unit, a communication unit, etc. 【0030】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 those servers 100, 400, and 500. 【0031】 <Features of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, the advertising server 100 requests bids for printing advertisements, receives bids in response to the bidding request, determines which bids will be awarded, and acquires the advertisement image provided by the winning bidder. The advertising server 100 then performs a billing process for the winning bidder. However, when printing the winning advertisement image, there may be defects in the printing result of the advertisement image, such as the entire advertisement image not being printed on the paper. In such cases, billing as is may be considered improper. 【0032】 The key feature of this embodiment is that it determines whether or not there are defects in the printout of the advertisement image printed by the printer 200. If it determines that there are defects, it does not charge the successful bidder, and if it determines that there are no defects, it charges the successful bidder. The details of this process will be explained below. 【0033】 <Processing of the Content Processing System> Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams showing the processes performed collaboratively by the ad delivery server 100, the ad management server 500, and the printer 200. In Figures 2 and 3, the main entities that execute each process are the control unit 110 of the ad delivery server 100, the control unit of the ad management server 500, and the control unit 210 of the printer 200. 【0034】The storage unit 115 of the advertising server 100 stores, for example, a predetermined minimum bid price for soliciting bids for advertisements. In Figure 2, in S5, the advertising server 100 determines the minimum bid price based on the contents of the storage unit 115 and sends a bid request including the minimum bid price to the advertising management server 500, thereby requesting bids for printing advertisements. At that time, the advertising server 100 requests advertisements that meet predetermined conditions, including having a bid price equal to or higher than the minimum bid price, in the bid request. S5 is an example of a request step and an example of a request processing. Furthermore, the part of the control unit 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S5 is an example of a request unit. 【0035】 The advertising management server 500 responds to the bidding request sent by the advertising provision server 100 by conducting an advertising auction and soliciting bids. 【0036】 In S7, the advertising server 100 receives the bidding results from the advertising management server 500 for the bids solicited in the auction in response to the bidding request sent in S5. The bidding results include bids from bidders that meet the predetermined conditions requested in the bidding request, if any bids meet those conditions. If no bids meet the predetermined conditions requested in the bidding request, the bidding results include information indicating that fact. S7 is an example of a receiving step and an example of a receiving process. The control unit 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S7 is an example of a receiving unit. 【0037】 In S8, the ad provider server 100 determines, based on the content received in S7, whether or not there was a bid that met the successful bid conditions, and decides that the bid that met the successful bid conditions will be the successful bid for the ad. In other words, the ad provider server 100 decides which bids will be successful from the bid results received in S7. The successful bid conditions are, for example, that the bid price is the highest. In addition, the successful bid conditions may be that the predetermined conditions requested in the bid request are met. S8 is an example of a decision step and an example of a decision process. Furthermore, the part of the control unit 110 of the ad provider server 100 that executes S8 is an example of a decision unit. 【0038】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. 【0039】 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. 【0040】 In S17, the ad provider server 100 sends an ad image request to the ad management server 500 requesting the ad image 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. In response to the ad image requests, the ad management server 500 sends the ad image of the successful bidder to the ad provider server 100 in S20. 【0041】 In S22, the ad provider server 100 receives the ad image provided by the successful bidder, which has been sent by the ad management server 500. The ad provider server 100 stores the acquired ad image in, for example, the storage unit 115. The ad image acquired in S22 is an example of specific content. S22 is an example of an acquisition step and an example of an acquisition process. The control unit 110 of the ad provider server 100 that executes S22 is an example of an acquisition unit. 【0042】In S30, the advertisement providing server 100 creates a distribution image in which the advertisement image of the winning bidder is arranged in the advertisement frame, that is, a distribution image in which information including the advertisement image received from the advertisement management server 500 in S22 is arranged in the advertisement frame. Instead of the advertisement providing server 100 creating the distribution image, the advertisement management server 500 may create the distribution image, and the advertisement providing server 100 may acquire the distribution image. Further, instead of the advertisement providing server 100 creating the distribution image in S30, print data for printing the distribution image may be created in various page description languages. The advertisement providing server 100 distributes a print instruction including the created distribution image to the printer 200. In S30, the advertisement providing server 100 may distribute the distribution image to the printer 200 via another relay device. Further, instead of distributing the distribution image to the printer 200, the advertisement providing server 100 may transmit a page description language for printing the distribution image and a link destination of the distribution image to the printer 200. The printer 200 receives the print instruction transmitted by the advertisement providing server 100 in S30 and stores it in the storage unit 215. When the advertisement providing server 100 transmits the link destination of the distribution image in S30, in S35, the printer 200 accesses the link destination to acquire the distribution image and stores it in the storage unit 215. 【0043】 In S35, the printer 200 executes printing of the distribution image included in the print instruction stored in the storage unit 215 for one sheet of printing paper S. That is, the printer 200 prints a distribution image corresponding to the advertisement image acquired by the advertisement providing server 100 in S22. The printer 200 prints, on the printing paper, a distribution image corresponding to the advertisement image provided by the winning bidder determined from the advertisement bidding result by the printing mechanism 270. The distribution image printed in S35 is an example of a specific content image. S35 is an example of an output step and an example of output processing. 【0044】 After S30, in S40, the advertisement providing server 100 starts a waiting process for waiting for a print success / failure notification described later. 【0045】Moving on to FIG. 3, in S45, after executing printing by the above S35, the printer 200 determines whether there is a defect in the printing result of the distributed image. Specifically, at a predetermined timing after the execution of printing, the printer 200 determines whether there is an ejection abnormality in the nozzles of the head 270A by the detection unit 275. If the printer 200 determines that there is an ejection abnormality in the nozzles of the head 270A, it determines that there is a defect in the printing result. If it determines that there is no ejection abnormality in the nozzles of the head 270A, it determines that there is no defect in the printing result. When the printer 200 determines that there is an ejection abnormality in the nozzles of the head 270A, it makes a Yes determination in S50 following S45 and proceeds to S55. The S45 and S50 are an example of a determination step and also an example of a determination process. Also, the part of the control unit 210 of the printer 200 that executes the S45 and S50 is an example of a determination unit. 【0046】 In S55, the printer 200 performs maintenance such as flushing or purging by the maintenance unit 270C, and then proceeds to S80 described later. 【0047】 In the above S45, when the printer 200 determines that there is no ejection abnormality in the nozzles of the head 270A, it makes a No determination in S50 following S45 and proceeds to S60. 【0048】 In S60, after executing printing by the above S35, the printer 200 determines whether there is a defect in the printing result of the distributed image. Specifically, at a predetermined timing after the execution of printing, the printer 200 determines the presence or absence of conveyance deviation of the printing paper in the conveyance mechanism 270B. When detecting conveyance deviation, it determines that there is a defect in the printing result. When not detecting conveyance deviation, it determines that there is no defect in the printing result. 【0049】 In S60, when the control unit 210 of the printer 200 estimates that part or all of the advertisement image cannot be printed on the printing paper based on the position of the printing paper based on the detection result of the sensor 270D during the conveyance of the printing paper and the printing position of the advertisement image, it determines that there is a conveyance deviation. This method of determining the conveyance deviation will be described using FIGS. 4 to 10. 【0050】As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the transport rollers 270Ba constituting the transport mechanism 270B transport the printing paper S in the direction of arrow AR1. The carriage 270E is equipped with a sensor 270D at its lower part and is movable along the guide rail 270F. As shown in Figure 4, the transport mechanism 270B transports the printing paper S in the transport direction by a predetermined amount to a position near the leading edge of the printing paper S. Subsequently, as the carriage 270E moves in the main scanning direction AR2, the sensor 270D detects the position coordinates Ef1 and Ef2 at both ends, including the left and right ends near the leading edge of the printing paper S. As shown in Figure 5, the transport mechanism 270B transports the printing paper S in the transport direction by a predetermined amount to a position near the rear end of the printing paper S. Subsequently, as the carriage 270E moves in the main scanning direction AR2, the sensor 270D detects the position coordinates Eb1 and Eb2 at both ends, including the left and right ends near the rear end of the printing paper S. 【0051】 As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the control unit 210 defines a right-angled triangle Rt based on the position coordinates Ef1, Ef2 at both ends near the leading edge of the printing paper S and the position coordinates Eb1, Eb2 at both ends near the trailing edge. The line L1 connecting position coordinates Ef1, Ef2, the line segment L2 passing through position coordinate Eb1 and perpendicular to line L1, and the line segment L3 connecting position coordinates Eb1, Ef1 constitute the right-angled triangle Rt. The control unit 210 acquires the length d1 in the direction of line L1 between position coordinate Ef1 and line segment L2 as the amount of change in the main scanning direction between position coordinate Ef1 and position coordinate Eb1. The control unit 210 acquires the length d2 of line segment L2 as the amount of paper transported in the sub-scanning direction by the transport roller 270Ba. The control unit 210 calculates the oblique angle θ based on the lengths d1 and d2. The oblique angle θ is the angle of inclination of the edges at both ends of the printing paper S in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, relative to the transport direction by the transport roller 270Ba. 【0052】The control unit 210 calculates the limit value of the diagonal angle θ based on the paper size, margin size, and advertisement size included in the print instruction. Figure 8 shows the positional relationship between the position of the printing paper S and the printing position PI of the advertisement image when the diagonal angle θ is 0, Figure 9 shows the position when the diagonal angle θ is θ1, and Figure 10 shows the position when the diagonal angle θ is θ2, which is greater than θ1. As shown in Figure 8, when the diagonal angle θ is 0, the printing position PI is contained within the printing paper S with a gap equal to the margin size from the left edge, right edge, front edge, and rear edge of the printing paper S. As shown in Figure 9, when the diagonal angle θ is θ1, the two diagonal corners PI1 and PI2 of the printing position PI are in contact with both ends in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing paper S, and the printing position PI is just barely contained within the printing paper S. As shown in Figure 10, when the diagonal angle θ is θ2, the two diagonal corners PI1 and PI2 of the printing position PI extend beyond both ends in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing paper S, and a part of the printing position PI is outside the range of the printing paper S. In other words, in Figure 10, the advertisement image is cut off. The control unit 210 sets the limit value of the diagonal angle θ to θ1. 【0053】 The control unit 210 determines that there is no transport misalignment, i.e., no defects in the printing result, if the oblique angle θ calculated based on lengths d1 and d2 is within the limit value θ1. The control unit 210 determines that there is transport misalignment, i.e., defects in the printing result, if the oblique angle θ calculated based on lengths d1 and d2 is greater than the limit value θ1. In other words, the control unit 210 determines that there are defects if the lengths D of both ends of the printing paper S are greater than the reference length D2 in the case of Figure 9, based on the detection result of the sensor 270D. Note that the reference length D2 is an example of a predetermined range that includes the reference value. 【0054】Furthermore, the threshold value for the oblique angle θ used to determine whether or not there is a transport misalignment is not limited to the limit value θ1 mentioned above. For example, even if the oblique angle θ is within the limit value θ1, if it is greater than a predetermined angle greater than 0 and less than the limit value θ1, it may be determined that there is a transport misalignment. In addition, the presence or absence of a transport misalignment may be determined by methods other than those described above. For example, the sensor 270D may detect the coordinates of both ends of the printing paper S each time the carriage 270E moves in the main scanning direction during printing. In this case, the control unit 210 can determine whether or not the advertising image is cut off without calculating the oblique angle θ by comparing the coordinates of both ends of the printing paper S in each of the multiple passes with the printing start position and printing end position of the advertising image print data. 【0055】 Returning to Figure 3, in S60, if the printer 200 determines that there is a misalignment in the paper transport, it makes a Yes determination in S65 following S60 and proceeds to S66. S60 and S65 are examples of both a determination step and an example of a determination process. Furthermore, the control unit 210 of the printer 200 that executes S60 and S65 is an example of a determination unit. 【0056】 In S66, the printer 200 determines whether the number of times it has executed printing in S35 since receiving the print command transmitted in S30 has reached a predetermined number of retries. The control unit 210 may set the number of retries to a fixed value or may dynamically change it as needed. If the printer 200 determines that the number of retries has not been reached, it makes a No determination in S66 and proceeds to S75. If the printer 200 determines that the number of retries has been reached, it makes a Yes determination in S66 and proceeds to S85. 【0057】 In S75, the printer 200 feeds new print paper S from the paper tray using the transport mechanism 270B and performs a correction operation for the transport misalignment of the print paper S. The correction operation is, for example, repositioning by reversing the rotation of the transport roller 270Ba to feed the print paper S in reverse. In addition, during the correction operation, the print paper S may be brought into contact with a predetermined step or wall when it is fed in reverse. After that, the printer 200 reprints the distributed image on the print paper S for which the correction operation in S75 was performed. 【0058】 In S80, the printer 200 determines whether the number of times it has executed printing in S35 since receiving the print command transmitted in S30 has reached a predetermined number of retries. The control unit 210 may set the number of retries to a fixed value or may dynamically change it as needed. If the printer 200 determines that the number of retries has not been reached, it makes a No determination in S80 and returns to S35. As a result, the printer 200 feeds new paper S from the paper tray and reprints the distributed image on the paper S. If the printer 200 determines that the number of retries has been reached, it makes a Yes determination in S80 and proceeds to S85. 【0059】 In S85, the printer 200 sets the content of the print success / failure notification to be sent in S90 to "Printing failed". Subsequently, in S90, the printer 200 sends the print success / failure notification stating "Printing failed" to the advertising server 100. 【0060】 In addition, if the printer 200 determines in S60 that there is no misalignment in the transport of the printed paper, it makes a No determination in S65 following S60 and proceeds to S70. 【0061】 In S70, the printer 200 sets the content of the print success / failure notification to be sent in S90 to "Print Successful". Subsequently, in S90, the printer 200 sends the print success / failure notification stating "Print Successful" to the advertising server 100. 【0062】 As described above, in S90, if the printer 200 determines in S45, S50, S60, and S65 that there is a defect in the printed output of the distributed image, it sends a failure notification to the successful bidder to refrain from requesting payment. Conversely, if the printer 200 determines in S45, S50, S60, and S65 that there is no defect in the printed output of the distributed image, it sends a success notification to the successful bidder to request payment. S90 is an example of the success / failure notification process. 【0063】In S117, the advertising server 100 determines whether the print success / failure notification sent by the printer 200 in S90 was a notification indicating "print failure". If the print success / failure notification was indicating "print success", the advertising server 100 determines No and proceeds to S140. 【0064】 In S140, the advertising server 100 sends a billing notice to the advertising management server 500 to the advertiser, who is the successful bidder and provided the advertising image included in the distributed image sent to the printer 200 in S30, in order to bill them for the compensation corresponding to the printing of the advertisement. 【0065】 In step S145, 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. 【0066】 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, linking 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 contained in the distributed image was successfully bid on, and then terminates processing. 【0067】 In addition, in S117 above, if the advertisement server 100 receives a print success / failure notification indicating "printing failure," it determines it to Yes and proceeds to S120 without executing S140. 【0068】 In S120, the ad provider server 100 sends a bid cancellation notice to the ad management server 500, revoking the aforementioned successful bid determined in S8. 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 relevant ad, of the cancellation of the bid. 【0069】 In S130, the ad provider server 100 stores the distribution image for which the bid was canceled in S120 in the storage unit 115 as a failure history, linking it with historical information such as the bid conditions, reason for failure, and date and time of failure confirmation when the ad image contained in the distribution image was won, and then terminates processing. 【0070】As described above, if the advertising server 100 determines that there is a defect in the print result of the distributed image based on S45, S50, S60, and S65, it does not execute S140 and therefore does not bill the successful bidder. If the advertising server 100 determines that there is no defect in the print result of the distributed image based on S45, S50, S60, and S65, it executes S140 and bills the bidder. S140 is an example of a billing step and an example of a billing process. Furthermore, the part of the control unit 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S140 is an example of a billing unit. 【0071】 <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, the control unit 210 determines in S45, S50 and S60, S65 whether or not there is a defect in the print result of the distributed image printed by the printer 200. If the control unit 210 of the printer 200 determines that there is no defect in the print result, the advertising server 100 requests payment from the successful bidder who won the bid for the advertising image in S140. If the control unit 210 of the printer 200 determines that there is a defect in the print result, the advertising server 100 does not request payment from the successful bidder. According to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of payment requested even when there is a defect in the print result of the advertising image, so that proper billing processing can be performed. 【0072】 Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the detection unit 275 of the printer 200 detects an abnormality in nozzle ejection, the control unit 210 determines in S45 and S50 that there is a defect in the print result of the distributed image. According to this embodiment, if the detection unit 275 of the printer 200 detects an abnormality in nozzle ejection, the control unit 110 of the advertising server 100 considers that there is a defect in the print result of the advertising image and does not charge a fee, thus enabling proper billing processing. 【0073】 Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the detection unit 275 of the printer 200 detects an ejection abnormality in the nozzle, the maintenance unit 270C performs maintenance to resolve the ejection abnormality. After the maintenance unit 270C resolves the ejection abnormality, the printer 200 performs reprinting in S35, thereby reducing defects in the print results of the distributed image. 【0074】 Furthermore, in this embodiment, if there is a misalignment in the transport mechanism 270B of the printer 200, the control unit 210 determines in S60 and S65 that there is a defect in the printed result of the distributed image. According to this embodiment, if a misalignment in the transport of the printed paper occurs, the control unit 110 of the advertising server 100 considers that there is a defect in the printed result of the advertising image and does not charge a fee, thus enabling proper billing processing. 【0075】 Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the control unit 210 of the printer 200 determines that a transport misalignment has occurred because the sensor 270D has detected that the length of both ends of the print paper is outside a predetermined range. As a result, the control unit 210 can determine in S60 and S65 that there is a defect in the print result of the distributed image. 【0076】 Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the control unit 210 of the printer 200 estimates the printing status of the advertisement image according to the position of the printing paper corresponding to the detection result of the sensor 270D and the printing position of the advertisement image on the printing paper. If the control unit 210 estimates that part or all of the advertisement image has not been printed, it considers that a transport misalignment has occurred, and the control unit 210 can determine in S60 and S65 that there is a defect in the printing result of the distributed image. 【0077】 Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the control unit 210 of the printer 200 detects a transport misalignment, the transport mechanism 270B performs a correction operation to eliminate the transport misalignment. By having the printer 200 reprint the paper after the correction operation in S35, defects in the printed advertising image can be reduced. <Modification> 【0078】 This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from its spirit and technical concept. Such modifications will be described in order below. Parts equivalent to those in the embodiments described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be omitted or simplified as appropriate. 【0079】(1) When refunding payment for which settlement has been made: In the above embodiment, if it is determined that there is a defect in the print result of the advertisement in the printer 200, no payment is made to the successful bidder. However, there are cases in which payment is made before the start of printing the advertisement or at approximately the same time as the start of printing the advertisement. In such cases, if the control unit 210 of the printer 200 determines that there is a defect in the print result, the payment made to the external server may be refunded if the external server has already made the settlement for the payment made. 【0080】 Figures 11 and 12 are sequence diagrams showing the processes that the advertising server 100, advertising management server 500, and printer 200 perform in cooperation in this modified example. In Figures 11 and 12, the same reference numerals are used for processes similar to those described in Figures 2 and 3, and explanations are omitted as appropriate. 【0081】 In Figure 11, steps S5 to S35 are the same as in Figure 2, so their explanation is omitted. After S30, the advertising server 100 proceeds to S140. In S140, the advertising server 100 sends a billing notice to the advertising management server 500 to bill the advertiser, who is the successful bidder and provided the advertising image included in the distributed image sent to the printer 200 in S30, for the payment of compensation corresponding to the printing of the advertisement. In S145, the advertising management server 500 sends a billing notice to the terminal device, etc., of the successful bidder based on the billing notice received from the advertising server 100. After S140, in S40, the advertising server 100 starts a waiting process to await the printing success or failure notification, which will be described later. 【0082】 Moving to Figure 12, steps S45 to S117 are the same as in Figure 3, so the explanation is omitted. In S117, the advertising server 100 determines whether the print success / failure notification sent by the printer 200 was a notification indicating "print failure". If it was a print success / failure notification indicating "print success", it determines No and proceeds to S150. In S150, the advertising server 100 associates the distributed image sent to the printer 200 in S30 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 contained in the distributed image was successfully bid on, and stores it in the storage unit 115 as a success history, and terminates processing. 【0083】 In step S117 above, if the advertisement server 100 receives a print success / failure notification indicating "printing failure," it determines "Yes" and proceeds to step S160. 【0084】 In S160, the advertising server 100 sends a refund notification to the advertising management server 500 to the advertiser who was the successful bidder and to whom the billing notification was sent in S140, in order to refund the payment received. In S165, the advertising management server 500 sends a refund notification to the terminal device, etc., of the successful bidder based on the refund notification received from the advertising server 100. 【0085】 In S130, the ad provider server 100 stores the distributed image for which a refund was issued in S160 in the storage unit 115 as a failure history, linking it with historical information such as the bidding conditions, failure reason information, and failure confirmation date and time when the ad image contained in the distributed image was successfully bid on, and then terminates the process. 【0086】 According to this modified version, even when billing is made before the start of advertising printing or at approximately the same time as the start of advertising printing, proper billing can be performed. 【0087】(2) When detecting the position coordinates of both ends in the transport direction of the printing paper In the above embodiment, the sensor 270D detected the position coordinates of both ends in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing paper S. However, for example, the position coordinates of both ends in the transport direction of the printing paper S may be detected. In this case, for example, by moving the carriage 270E toward one end in the width direction of the printing paper S and moving the printing paper S from the front to the rear end in the transport direction with the transport roller 270Ba, the sensor 270D can detect the position coordinates of both ends in the transport direction at one end in the width direction of the printing paper S. Alternatively, for example, by moving the carriage 270E toward the other end in the width direction of the printing paper S and moving the printing paper S from the front to the rear end in the transport direction with the transport roller 270Ba, the sensor 270D can detect the position coordinates of both ends in the transport direction at the other end in the width direction of the printing paper S. Subsequently, the control unit 210 calculates the oblique angle θ in the same manner as described in Figures 6 to 10 above. If the calculated oblique angle θ is within the limit value θ1, it determines that there is no transport misalignment. If the calculated oblique angle θ is greater than the limit value θ1, it determines that there is a transport misalignment. 【0088】 (3) Others Above, printing was given as an example of output, but it is not limited to printing; it can also be a display. Also, printing paper was given as an example of a sheet, but any sheet-like printing medium such as cloth is acceptable. 【0089】 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. 【0090】 Furthermore, step S45 in the above embodiment may be executed at a predetermined timing during printing, rather than after printing. Subsequently, if it is determined in S50 that there is an ejection abnormality in the nozzle of the head 270A, printing may be interrupted in S55 and maintenance such as flushing or purging may be performed by the maintenance unit 270C. Alternatively, after it is determined in S50 in the above embodiment that there is an ejection abnormality in the nozzle of the head 270A, it may be determined in S60 and S65 whether or not there is a transport misalignment. If there is an ejection abnormality in the nozzle and there is a transport misalignment, maintenance and correction of the transport misalignment of the printing paper S may be performed, and then reprinting may be performed. 【0091】 Furthermore, the sequence diagrams shown in Figures 2, 3, 11, and 12 are not intended to limit this disclosure to the procedures shown in the above flow chart. Procedures may be added, deleted, or their order changed, as long as they do not deviate from the intent and technical concept of the disclosure. 【0092】 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. 【0093】 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. 【0094】 1 Content Processing System 100 Ad Delivery Server 110 Control Unit (Example of a computer) 200 Printer (Example of an output unit / output device) 210 Control Unit 270A Head 270B Transport Mechanism 270C Maintenance Unit 270D Sensor 275 Detection Unit 500 Ad Management Server
Claims
1. A content processing system comprising: a request unit that requests bids for content output; a receiving unit that receives bids in response to the request for bids; a decision unit that determines which bid to be awarded from the bids received by the receiving unit; an acquisition unit that acquires specific content provided by the specific bidder of the bid determined to be awarded by the decision unit; an output unit that outputs a specific content image corresponding to the specific content acquired by the acquisition unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output by the output unit; and a billing unit that does not charge the specific bidder if the determination unit determines that there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image, and charges the aforementioned fee if the determination unit determines that there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image.
2. The content processing system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes a printing mechanism for printing an image onto a sheet, and the determination unit determines whether or not there is a defect in the print result of the specific content image printed by the printing mechanism.
3. The content processing system according to claim 2, wherein the printing mechanism includes a head having a nozzle for discharging liquid, the content processing system further includes a detection unit for detecting an abnormality in the nozzle's discharge, and the determination unit determines that there is a defect when the detection unit detects an abnormality in the nozzle's discharge.
4. The content processing system further comprises a maintenance unit that performs maintenance to resolve nozzle ejection abnormalities, wherein the maintenance unit performs the maintenance to resolve the ejection abnormality when the detection unit detects the ejection abnormality, and the printing mechanism reprints the specific content image after the ejection abnormality has been resolved by the maintenance unit, according to claim 3.
5. The content processing system according to claim 2, wherein the output unit includes a transport mechanism for transporting a sheet on which an image is printed, and the determination unit determines that there is a defect when a misalignment of the sheet in the transport mechanism is detected.
6. The content processing system according to claim 5, further comprising a sensor for detecting the position of the end of the sheet being transported by the transport mechanism, wherein the determination unit determines that there is a defect when the lengths of both ends of the sheet, based on the detection result of the sensor, fall outside a predetermined range including a reference value.
7. The content processing system according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit determines that there is a defect if it is estimated that part or all of the specific content image is not printed on the sheet, based on the position of the sheet during transport based on the detection result of the sensor and the printing position of the specific content image.
8. The content processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein when the transport misalignment is detected, the transport mechanism performs a transport misalignment correction operation, and the printing mechanism reprints the specific content image on the sheet on which the correction operation was performed.
9. An output device comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit performs: an output process that outputs a specific content image corresponding to specific content provided by a specific bidder who is the successful bidder, as determined from the content bidding results; a determination process that determines whether or not there are defects in the output result of the specific content image output by the output process; and a success / failure transmission process that, if the determination process determines that there are defects in the output result of the specific content image, sends a failure notification to the specific bidder to refrain from claiming payment, and if the determination process determines that there are no defects in the output result of the specific content image, sends a success notification to the specific bidder to claim payment.
10. A content processing method executed by a content processing system, comprising: a request step of requesting bids for content output; a receiving step of receiving bids in response to the request for bids in the request step; a decision step of determining which bid to be awarded from the bids received in the receiving step; an acquisition step of acquiring specific content provided by the specific bidder of the bid determined to be awarded in the decision step; an output step of outputting a specific content image corresponding to the specific content acquired in the acquisition step; a determination step of determining whether or not there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output in the output step; and a billing step of not billing the specific bidder if it is determined in the determination step that there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image, and billing the specific bidder if it is determined in the determination step that there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image.
11. A content processing program for causing a computer to execute: a request process that requests bids for content output; a receiving process that receives bids in response to the bid requests in the request process; a decision process that determines which bid to be awarded from the bids received in the receiving process; an acquisition process that acquires specific content provided by the specific bidder of the bid determined to be awarded in the decision process; and a billing process that does not charge the specific bidder if there is a defect in the output result of the specific content image output corresponding to the specific content acquired in the acquisition process, and charges the aforementioned fee if there is no defect in the output result of the specific content image.