JP2004348253A - Print site device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable promotion and spreading of a print service capable of easily printing and obtaining an image treated at a portable terminal. <P>SOLUTION: An image reception server authenticates to receive an image sent from the portable terminal to treat the image via uploading by a Web access or e-mail, and an image management server stores to manage the received image. On receipt of a request from any of a plurality of print terminals disposed on a street etc. and automatically printing the received image, an image distribution server retrieves the required image from the management server and distributes it to the print terminal has made the request. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print site apparatus that provides an image print service for sending an image from a portable terminal that handles images to a terminal having a printing function via the Internet and performing printing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, camera-equipped mobile phones have become widespread with the miniaturization and high performance of digital camera functions, and an environment has been established for exchanging captured images with the other party's mobile phone via wireless lines with the improvement of communication systems. On the other hand, there is an increasing demand for printing images to be displayed on mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs. At present, when printing an image, it is transferred to a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a personal computer) and printed by a printer connected to the personal computer, or a mobile terminal with a recording medium such as a film or a memory card is used. A common method is to take the recording medium to a DPE shop and print it. On the other hand, several service methods for printing an image using the Internet have been conventionally proposed.
[0003]
As an example, the digital data is directly transmitted from the own mobile phone to the Internet information receiving terminal of the print station, and a necessary portion of the digital data is output and printed, or the screen of the Internet information receiving terminal is printed. (For example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, this system temporarily stores digital data in the free space of the contracted document server, outputs the necessary part of the stored digital data, and prints it at a print station connected to the Internet, Alternatively, it can be viewed on the screen of the Internet information receiving terminal.
[0004]
As another example, there is a system that has a mobile portal site that supports a content distribution type print service, and prints the content of an information provider according to a print instruction from a mobile terminal (for example, see Patent Reference 2).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-222387 A [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-125982
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In an environment where an image displayed on a conventional mobile terminal is printed as described above, a method in which the image is transferred to a personal computer and then printed by a printer cannot be used when a personal printer has a limit in its performance. I couldn't get it, so I had to take it to the DPE shop, which was troublesome. Further, in the case of the system as disclosed in Patent Document 1, although the system is connected via the Internet, it is a system of individual management centered on each print station, and it is assumed that there is a store nearby that the user wants to use. It is not convenient for people, and it takes time to spread the service system. In addition, there is a limit in use, for example, the user must know the location of the store in advance. Further, the billing method is a mechanism in which a user deposits money into the print station side, and there is a problem that the document server side does not have a mechanism for collecting charges, which makes it difficult to realize. Further, in the case of the system as disclosed in Patent Document 2, there is a problem that only a print instruction is issued from the mobile terminal, and the print content owned by the mobile terminal itself cannot be provided.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a print site apparatus capable of facilitating the spread of a print service in which an image handled by a portable terminal can be easily printed and obtained. .
Another object of the present invention is to provide a print site apparatus that enables a print service in which a user can specify a delivery location of a requested print image from a portable terminal.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A print site apparatus according to the present invention includes: an image receiving server that authenticates and receives an image transmitted from a mobile terminal that handles an image via web access or via e-mail; and an image management server that holds and manages the received image. A plurality of print terminals installed on a street or the like for automatically printing received images are connected via the Internet, and in response to a request from any of these print terminals, a requested image is retrieved from the image management server and a request is issued. And an image distribution server that distributes the image data to the print terminal.
[0009]
The print site apparatus according to the present invention authenticates and accepts an image transmitted from a mobile terminal that handles an image via web access or via e-mail, and receives destination information that specifies a delivery location of the print image from the mobile terminal. An image reception server that recognizes the received image, an image management server that holds and manages the received image and its destination information, and reads out the image that is periodically held and its destination information from the image management server, prints the received image, and And an image delivery server for delivering to a collective print center for delivering to a delivery location.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print site system according to Embodiments 1 to 4 of the present invention.
In the figure, a mobile terminal 1 is a terminal having an Internet connection function such as a mobile phone capable of handling images, and a print site 3 is a site operated by an application service provider and has a Internet connection function and is a print site device including various servers. This is a site for realizing a print service for the mobile terminal 1, the self-print terminal (print terminal) 8, the ID photo terminal (print terminal) 9 and the batch print center 10 which are connected to the Internet. The image receiving server 4 is a means for permitting only access from a mobile terminal that has already been registered as a user by authenticating the mobile terminal 1 and transferring the received image to the image management server 5 together with a registration ID and a password. At this time, the image receiving server 4 has a function of returning an e-mail to the portable terminal 1 indicating that the image has been received.
[0011]
The image management server 5 is a unit having a function of holding the image, the registration ID, and the password received from the image reception server 4 for a certain period of time, and transferring corresponding information according to an instruction from the image distribution server 6. The image distribution server 6 receives the registration ID and the password from the self-print terminal 8 or the ID photo terminal 9 via the network, searches the image management server 5 for an image that matches the contents, and if there is a corresponding image, the image Is a means having a function of distributing via the Internet to the self-print terminal 8 or the ID photograph terminal 9 which has made a request. The self-printing terminal 8 is installed in a street, a convenience store, or the like, and is a means for automatically printing an image obtained from the print site 3 via the Internet by a user's operation. May be printed.
[0012]
The ID photo terminal 9 is installed in a station or the like, and is a means for automatically printing, as a photo ID, an image obtained from the print site 3 via the Internet by a user's operation. Additional functions include camera photographing and photo development. May have a function of creating an ID photo as a set. Both the self-print terminal 8 and the ID photo terminal 9 can be assumed to be stand-type print terminals operated for a fee. The collective print center 10 is a means for printing images sent from the print site 3 via the Internet and recognizing a destination specified by the user, and a facility for manually delivering the print images to the specified fixed delivery location 11. Can be assumed. The mobile phone site 12 is a site that provides a standby image to a mobile phone, an album site that stores images taken by a camera of the mobile phone, and the like.
[0013]
Next, the operation of the system will be described.
For example, assume a case in which an image photographed by a user with a camera-equipped mobile phone is printed by a self-print terminal 8 or an ID photo terminal 9 installed on a street or the like. In this case, the user first performs user registration on the print site 3 using the mobile terminal 1. Thereafter, an image to be printed is transferred from the mobile terminal 1 to the print site 3 via the mobile communication line 2 by uploading an image by Web access or by e-mail. In the print site 3, authentication is performed in the image receiving server 4, and it is determined whether the request is from a terminal already registered in the site. If the request is from a terminal that has already been registered, the image is accepted, and as a result, the registration ID and password corresponding to the image are returned to the sender's portable terminal 1 by e-mail. The image management server 5 holds the registered image together with the registration ID and the password for a certain period of time, and waits for an access from the image distribution server 6.
[0014]
When printing the registered image, the user inputs a registration ID and a password to the self-print terminal 8 or the ID photo terminal 9 installed on the street. The input information is notified to the image distribution server 6 from the self-print terminal 8 or the ID photo terminal 9. Then, the image distribution server 6 searches the image management server 5 for an image registered with the registration ID and the password. If the target image exists, all the images are delivered to the self-print terminal 8 or the ID photo terminal 9 that has requested. After receiving the image distribution, the self-print terminal 8 or the ID photo terminal 9 displays the received image on the screen, prompts the user to confirm the image, and prints the image in exchange for the fee corresponding to the number of sheets.
[0015]
As described above, according to the print site apparatus of the first embodiment, the image reception server authenticates and accepts the image transmitted from the mobile terminal that handles the image via the web access or the e-mail from the portable terminal that handles the image, and accepts the image. When an image management server holds and manages an image and receives a request from any of a plurality of print terminals that are installed on a street or the like and automatically prints the received image, the image distribution server searches the image management server for the requested image. Then, the print data is distributed to the print terminal that has made the request. Therefore, a print site is set up on the Internet that can be accessed by a user using a mobile phone. Using this print site as the core, a print terminal such as a self-print terminal or an ID photo terminal that can be operated by an arbitrary contractor different from the print site is provided in each region. Since it is possible to provide a service environment that can be installed individually, an effect of promoting the development and spread of a new image printing system can be obtained. As a result, an effect is obtained in which the user can easily obtain a print image using a nearby print terminal only by accessing one print site, for example.
[0016]
Embodiment 2 FIG.
In the system configuration of FIG. 1, the user performs user registration at the print site 3 using the mobile terminal 1. Thereafter, when the image to be printed is transferred from the mobile terminal 1 to the print site 3 via the mobile communication line 2 via the mobile communication line 2 by uploading an image via e-mail or a mail, the destination address and the address or the name of the store such as a convenience store and the address are entered. specify. In the print site 3, first, authentication is performed by the image reception server 4, and it is determined whether the request is from a terminal already registered in the site. If the request is from a terminal that has already been registered, the transferred image is accepted, and as a result, the sender's portable terminal 1 is addressed to the destination address and address corresponding to this image or the name of the convenience store and the address. , Reply the date of arrival, etc. by email. The image management server 5 holds the registered image together with the destination information for a certain period of time, and waits for an access from the image distribution server 6.
[0017]
The image distribution server 6 periodically retrieves and reads the information of the image management server 5, and distributes the image having the destination information to the collective print center 10 together with the destination information. Upon receiving the distributed image, the batch print center 10 prints the image, recognizes the destination, and delivers the print image to the corresponding destination. The user receives the print image in exchange for the price.
[0018]
As described above, according to the print site apparatus of the second embodiment, the image reception server authenticates and receives an image transmitted from a portable terminal that handles the image via web access or via e-mail, The portable terminal recognizes the destination information specifying the delivery location of the print image, stores and manages the received image and the destination information in the image management server, and stores the image and the destination information periodically held by the image distribution server. The received image is read from the image management server, and the received image is printed and distributed to a collective print center that distributes the received image to a designated delivery location. Therefore, a print environment is set up on the Internet that users can access with their mobile phones, and with this print site at the core, a service environment where a collective print center that can be operated by an arbitrary contractor different from the print site can be set up in each region individually. Since it can be provided, an effect of promoting the development and spread of a new image printing system can be obtained. As a result, there is an effect that the user can easily obtain the print image printed only by accessing one print site at home or in a nearby convenience store, for example.
[0019]
Embodiment 3 FIG.
The third embodiment relates to an additional function to the first embodiment.
In the system configuration of FIG. 1, the user performs user registration at the print site 3 using the mobile terminal 1. Thereafter, a search is made for street print terminal information from the mobile terminal 1 through Web access, and a zip code, an address, a district name, a building name, etc. of a desired place are designated, and the place information is passed to the delivery management information server 7. . The delivery management information server 7 searches for a plurality of pre-registered self-print terminals 8 or ID photo terminals 9 installed around the corresponding designated location, and maps the installation address and map information indicating the installation location to an image. The data is transferred to the mobile terminal 1 via the reception server 4. The user determines a place where the user wants to print an image based on the installation address and the map information displayed on the mobile terminal 1. When printing the registered image, the user may go to a place determined by the user and input a registration ID and a password to the installed self-print terminal 8 or ID photo terminal 9. Subsequent processing is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and a print image can be obtained.
If the mobile terminal 1 has a GPS function, the above operation may be performed by sending the displayed own position as location information to the print site as it is. In this case, it is possible to save the user from having to specify a zip code, an address, a district name, a building name, and the like.
[0020]
As described above, according to the print site apparatus of the third embodiment, the delivery management server that manages the location information where the print terminal is installed receives the location information specifying the location where printing is to be performed from the mobile terminal, and An installation location of the print terminal corresponding to the location information is searched, and map information indicating the obtained installation location is returned to the portable terminal for presentation. Therefore, since a place for printing is easily retrieved from the portable terminal and can be indicated by the map information, an effect is obtained that the user can easily obtain a print image without previously recognizing the installation location of the print terminal.
[0021]
Embodiment 4 FIG.
In the fourth embodiment, a profit model of the print site 3 will be described.
In the case of the first embodiment, billing from the user is performed at the self-print terminal 8 and the ID photo terminal 9 on the street. This is a mechanism in which printing can be performed in exchange for the fee for the number of sheets to be printed, and if this is the case, the operation of the print site 3 becomes difficult. Therefore, the print site 3 can create distribution history information of the distribution date and number and the number of distributed images for the images distributed to the self-print terminal 8, the ID photo terminal 9 and the batch print center 10 by the image distribution server 6, and can extract the distribution history for each distribution destination. Record management. The operating company of the print site 3 uses the distribution history information recorded and managed by the image distribution server 6 to charge a fee for the image distribution from the operating company having the self-print terminal 8 and the ID photo terminal 9 to a distribution service fee. Collected as nominal.
[0022]
In addition, a content provider that operates a mobile phone site 12 where printing is an added value, such as a standby image providing site or an album site, can print its own content by using the print site 3. . In this case, in the print site 3, the image reception server 4 creates and records and manages reception history information on the reception date and the number of received images of the images received for each mobile phone site 12. The operating company of the print site 3 collects a fee for image reception from a predetermined operating company of the mobile phone site 12 based on the reception history information.
[0023]
As described above, according to the print site apparatus of the fourth embodiment, the image distribution server creates distribution record information of the distribution date / time and the number of distributed images for each print terminal or batch print center that has distributed the image, and manages the record. Therefore, an effect is obtained that enables the operating company of the print site to charge the operating company having the print terminal and the batch print center.
Further, according to the print site apparatus of the fourth embodiment, the image receiving server receives an image for printing from a mobile phone site that handles images, and receives a reception date and time and the number of received images for each mobile phone site. Since the reception history information is created and recorded and managed, it is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to charge the cost to the mobile terminal site operating company.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, an image receiving server that authenticates and receives an image transmitted from a mobile terminal that handles an image via web access or via e-mail, and an image management server that holds and manages the received image A server and a plurality of print terminals installed on a street or the like for automatically printing received images are connected via the Internet, and in response to a request from any of these print terminals, a request image is retrieved from the image management server and requested. With an image distribution server that distributes images to a print terminal that has had a print site, a print site is placed on the Internet that can be accessed with a mobile phone, and this print site is the core of any contract that differs from the print site. A self-print terminal or ID photo terminal that can be operated by a vendor Since it is possible to provide a service environment that can be installed separately in each region, there is an effect to promote the development and popularization of new image print system. In addition, since the user can easily obtain a predetermined print image by using a nearby print terminal simply by accessing one print site, for example, the effect of expanding a new use of a camera-equipped mobile phone that is converted to a megapixel can be obtained. is there.
[0025]
According to the present invention, an image transmitted from a mobile terminal that handles an image by uploading via Web access or via e-mail is authenticated and accepted, and destination information specifying a delivery location of the print image is recognized from the mobile terminal. An image reception server, an image management server that holds and manages the received images and their destination information, and reads out the periodically held images and their destination information from the image management server, prints the received image, and sends it to the designated delivery location. Since it is configured to include an image distribution server for distributing to a collective print center for distributing, a print site is placed on the Internet which can be accessed by a user with a mobile phone, and this print site is used as a nucleus and an arbitrary different from the print site. A batch print center that can be operated by a contractor in each region Since it is possible to provide a service environment that can be installed individually, the effect of encouraging the development and spread of new image print system. In addition, the user can easily obtain a print image at home or in a nearby convenience store or the like by simply accessing one print site, for example. Has the effect of spreading.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a print site system according to Embodiments 1 to 4 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 mobile terminal, 2 mobile communication line, 3 print site, 4 image reception server, 5 image management server, 6 image distribution server, 7 delivery management information server, 8 self-print terminal, 9 ID photo terminal, 10 batch print center, 11 Fixed delivery site, 12 mobile phone site.

Claims (5)

An image receiving server that authenticates and receives an image transmitted from a mobile terminal that handles the image via web access or via e-mail,
An image management server that holds and manages the received images,
A plurality of print terminals installed on a street or the like for automatically printing received images are connected via the Internet, and in response to a request from any of these print terminals, a request image is retrieved from the image management server and requested. A print site device including an image distribution server that distributes images to a print terminal. An image receiving server that authenticates and receives an image transmitted from a mobile terminal that handles images via web access or uploaded via e-mail, and that recognizes destination information that specifies a delivery location of the print image from the mobile terminal;
An image management server that holds and manages the received images and their destination information;
A print site apparatus comprising: an image distribution server that reads out periodically held images and their destination information from the image management server, prints the received images, and distributes the received images to a designated delivery location. Receiving location information designating a location where printing is desired from the mobile terminal, searching for the installation location of the printing terminal corresponding to the location information, returning map information indicating the obtained installation location to the mobile terminal and presenting the same. 2. The print site apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a delivery management server that causes the delivery management server to execute the delivery. 4. The image delivery server according to claim 1, wherein the image delivery server creates and records and manages history information of the delivery date and the number of delivered images for each print terminal or batch print center that delivered the image. The print site device according to the item. The image reception server accepts images for printing from mobile phone sites that handle images, and creates and records reception history information on the date and time of reception and the number of received images for each mobile phone site. The print site apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the print site apparatus is a print site apparatus.

Images