ADVERTISEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PRINTER

An advertisement system and method of a printer is proposed. Particularly, customized advertisement content is displayed on a computing device interworked with the printer during a print waiting time, or the customized advertisement content for each user is output on a printout of an output device. In the advertisement system of the printer, a user-customized advertisement is displayed during the print waiting time that inevitably occurs when outputting to the printer, or user-customized content is output according to a layout and design of the printout. In addition, the advertisement system of the printer provides a rental fee discount, point and reward accumulation of the printer according to an amount of time the advertisement is output from the output device and an advertising print volume, so that a user who rented the printer may generate revenue and an advertiser may improve advertising effectiveness through the advertisement system of the printer.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an advertisement system and method of a printer and, more particularly, to an advertisement system and advertisement method of a printer, wherein customized advertisement content is displayed on a computing device interworked with an output device during a print waiting time, or customized advertisement content for each user is output on a printout of the output device.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated in the present disclosure, the content described in this section is not related art to the claims of this application and is not admitted to be the related art by inclusion in this section.

A printer is necessary office equipment that interworks with a computing device to output a message received from the computing device. Printers are provided in various office spaces and personal spaces, such as offices, schools, public institutions, and homes. In general, in order to use the printer, an output screen is set on the computing device interworked with the printer, and when an output request signal is transmitted to the printer after setting the number of prints, a size, design, and the like, the printer outputs a printout according to the received output request signal. After that, a user goes to the printer and collects the printout he or she has printed. When the printer processes the output request signal, there occurs an inevitable print waiting time. Conventionally, it is common to wait while checking the status of a printout until printing is completed in the vicinity of a printer during a print waiting time, which always occurs when using the printer, or it is common to wait while monitoring a user's computer during the print waiting time.

SUMMARY

Technical Problem

An objective of the present disclosure is to provide an advertisement system of a printer configured to display a user-customized advertisement on a computing device interworked with an output device, or output user-customized content to a printout according to a layout and design of the printout, during a print waiting time that inevitably occurs when using a printer. The advertisement system of the printer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure checks an amount of time during which the advertisement is output and an advertising print volume, on the computing device interworked with the output device, so as to provide a rental fee discount, point, and reward of a printer, thereby enabling a user who rented the printer to generate revenue and an advertiser to improve advertising effectiveness through the advertisement system of the printer.

Technical Solution

According to an exemplary embodiment, an advertisement system of a printer includes: a central server configured to store detailed output device information including a type of an output device, an installation location, an advertisement output time, the number of times of advertisement output, and a rental fee, which are registered in the advertisement system of the printer, select an advertisement to be output to a user's computing device interworked with the output device by using the detailed output device information and registered user information, and control the advertisement output; the output device configured to expose the advertisement on a printout according to the control of the advertisement output of the central server; and the user's computing device configured to output the selected advertisement on a screen according to the control of the central server or the output device.

According to another exemplary embodiment, an advertisement method of an advertisement system of a printer includes: step (A) of storing and updating, in a central server, detailed output device information including a type of an output device, an installation location, an advertisement output time, the number of times of advertisement output, and a rental fee, information on a user subscribing to the system, and information on a customer using the output device; step (B) of receiving, in the output device, an output request signal from a computing device interworked with the output device; step (C) of selecting, in the output device, an advertisement to be output to the output device or a printout according to personal information of the user of the computing device transmitting the output request signal, output information, an area where the output device is installed, and a printing waiting time; step (D) of displaying the advertisement selected in a print waiting time of the printout to the computing device when the advertisement is displayed on the output device; step (E) of calculating a size and a layout of an advertisement image to be printed according to the number of pages, a size, a layout, and design of the printout when the advertisement is printed on the printout of the output device; and step (F) of outputting the advertisement image on printing paper according to the calculated size and layout of the advertisement image.

Advantageous Effects

The advertisement system of the printer as described above calculates an advertisement fee and a reward by respectively displaying or outputting an advertisement with a computing device or a printout during a print waiting time that inevitably occurs when using a printer, thereby enabling both a rental company and a user who rented the printer to generate additional revenue, and enabling the rental company to increase the advertising effectiveness by exposing the advertisement during the print waiting time that inevitably occurs. In addition, when the calculated print waiting time is less than a predetermined time, advertisement content is allowed to be printed on the printout, so that the advertising effectiveness may be generated even with a short print waiting time.

The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above effects, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the detailed description of the present disclosure or the configuration of the present disclosure described in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An advertisement system of a printer according to the exemplary embodiment includes: a central server configured to store detailed output device information including a type of an output device, an installation location, an advertisement output time, the number of times of advertisement output, and a rental fee, which are registered in the advertisement system of the printer, use the detailed output device information and registered user information so as to select an advertisement to be exposed to a user's computing device interworked with the output device, and control outputting of the advertisement; the output device configured to allow the advertisement to be exposed on a printout according to the output control of the central server; and the user's computing device configure to output the selected advertisement on a screen according to the control of the central server or the output device.

Mode for Invention

Advantages and features of the present disclosure and the methods of achieving the same will become apparent with reference to exemplary embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms. These exemplary embodiments are provided only to complete the disclosure of the present disclosure and to completely inform the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains, and the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals generally denote like elements throughout the present disclosure.

In the following descriptions of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it is to be noted that, when a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which may vary according to the intention or custom of users or operators. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made on the basis of the content throughout the present specification.

FIG. 1is a view illustrating a configuration of an advertisement system of a printer according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring toFIG. 1, the advertisement system of the printer according to the exemplary embodiment may be configured to include a central server100, an output device200, and a computing device300. The central server100stores detailed output device information including a type of an output device, an installation location, an advertisement output time, the number of times of advertisement output, and a rental fee, which are registered in the advertisement system of the printer, and controls advertisement output to the computing device interworked with the output device by using the detailed output device information. In addition, the central server100stores and updates user information such as an age of an individual user, a field of interest, and an area where the output device is used, which are registered in the advertisement system of the printer.

The output device200is the output equipment of a printer and the like, and when receiving a print request signal from the computing device300interworked with the output device, or receiving an advertisement output signal from the central server100, the output device200outputs an advertisement to a printout or the computing device on the basis of the print request signal and the advertisement output signal.

The computing device300is equipment configured to generate and transmit output content while interworking with the output device200, and includes a series of smart devices that includes a central control device such as a computer, a notebook computer, a smartphone, and a smartpad. The computing device300transmits a print request message to the output device200through wired/wireless communication.

FIG. 2is a view illustrating a data processing block of the central server100according to the exemplary embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 2, the central server100may be configured to include a database110, an advertisement selection module130, a rate settlement module150, and a communication module170. The term “module” used in this specification should be interpreted as being able to include software, hardware, or a combination thereof, depending on the context in which the term is used. For example, the software may be a machine language, a firmware, an embedded code, and an application software. As another example, the hardware may be a circuit, a processor, a computer, an integrated circuit, an integrated circuit core, a sensor, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), a passive device, or a combination thereof.

The database110stores detailed information of each output device and each user who has subscribed to the advertisement system of the printer. For example, the database110may store each piece of information including: various information on each output device, such as a type of an output device, an installation location, a rental fee, device state information, and the like; personal information including a user's age, an address, a rental area, a phone number, and the like; and other information including main content of a printout; a field of interest; rental company information, and the like.

The advertisement selection module130is configured to select an optimal advertisement by analyzing the characteristics of a company or an individual who rented an output device, and output the selected advertisement to each computing device interworked with the rented output device. In the exemplary embodiment, in a case where an output device is installed in a university, the advertisement selection module130selects an advertisement where students are major consumers so that the advertisement is displayed on each computing device, or allows an advertisement to be displayed on each output device for an area adjacent to an area in which each output device is installed. The advertisement selection may be performed according to an analysis result after analyzing each location where the output device is installed, or analyzing ages, fields of interest, occupation groups, and the like of major users.

The rate settlement module150is configured to calculate both of the total time an advertisement is displayed on a computing device interworked with the rented output device and the number of times in which the advertisement is output on a printout, and according to the calculated results, settle an advertisement fee, or discount a rental fee for the output device. In the exemplary embodiment, the advertisement fee may be calculated as a reward such as points or cash in proportion to the number of advertisement exposures. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the rate settlement module150selects, as a major advertiser, an advertiser customer who pays an advertisement amount greater than or equal to a predetermined level among advertisers registered in the advertisement system, or the advertiser customer whose subscription period exceeds a predetermined period. Thereafter, when the major advertiser's advertisement is output, in a case where a print request signal is transmitted to an output device, advertisement content of the major advertiser is respectively displayed and printed on both the output device and a printout. That is, the advertising effectiveness may be increased by simultaneously exposing the advertisement on the computing device and the printout for the advertisement content requested by the major advertiser.

The communication module170is configured to manage an output device by collecting an output device state, advertisement exposure status, and the like, which are registered in the advertisement system of the printer, and transmit advertisement content selected for each output device to each output device. In addition, the central server100may store printer advertisement applications and programs, and the communication module170may transfer, in a distributed manner, the stored printer advertisement applications and programs to an output device and a smart terminal controlling the output device.

FIG. 3is a view illustrating a data processing block of the output device200according to the exemplary embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 3, the output device200may be configured to include a time calculation part210, an advertisement selection part230, a rate calculation part240, a layout calculation part250, and an advertisement output part270. The time calculation part210calculates the amount of time in which an advertisement is displayed on each computing device interworked with a respective output device and the number of times in which the advertisement is printed on a printout.

The advertisement selection part230selects advertisement content exposed to an output device or a printout according to an area where the output device is installed, main content of the printout, an age of a customer using the output device, a main field of interest, and the like. For example, when the customer using an output device is a white-collar office worker in his or her thirties, the advertisement selection part230selects the advertisement content by which the customer of the office-worker in his or her thirties may become a target consumer. In addition, the advertisement selection part230may analyze an area where the output device is installed, gender and an age of a customer, and main output content, so as to select an advertisement to be output on the basis of the analyzed results.

The rate calculation part240calculates a rental fee discount amount or a reward amount of an output device in proportion to a print waiting time for which an advertisement is output on a screen of a computing device and the number of pages of a printout printed with the advertisement. In addition, the rate calculation part240may raise and calculate an advertisement fee according to a size and a position of advertisement content that is printed on printing paper. For example, when the advertisement content is printed in the center of the printing paper, the fee calculation part240may raise and calculate the advertisement fee according to the number of printed pages of the printing paper.

When an advertisement to be output is selected, the layout calculation part250calculates a display layout or a print layout of the advertisement according to a print request message. In the exemplary embodiment, when the print request message is received from an output device200, a print wait time is calculated, and when the print wait time exceeds a predetermined time or a user sets the advertisement to be displayed on a computing device, a layout in which the selected advertisement is displayed on the computing device300is calculated. Specifically, a display area of the computing device300is identified, and an advertisement output layout including the size and ratio of an advertisement object is calculated, so that advertisement content may be exposed on the display area of the output device for the predetermined time.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, when the print waiting time is less than the predetermined time or the user sets the advertisement to be output in a printout, the layout calculation part250sets an area into which the advertisement is to be inserted and calculates the advertisement output layout according to the size and layout of the printout included in the print request message. For example, the layout calculation part may determine the size, blank space, page number area, and the like of a sheet of paper, so as to extract an area in which the advertisement may be printed, and determine the size of the extracted area so as to set an advertisement layout.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the layout calculation part250identifies information on a size, a blank space, a margin of a printout, and a size of an advertisement, which are included in a print request signal transmitted to an output device, so that the advertisement is printed in the margin of the printout. For example, the layout calculation part250calculates each blank space size of the top, bottom, and sides of the printout, and adjusts a size and an aspect ratio of advertisement content according to an aspect ratio of the blank space, so that the advertisement is printed on the printout without proportion distortion of the advertisement content. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the advertisement content may be output together with page numbers, or the advertisement content may be printed on a printout by inserting the advertisement content into page number design or upper and lower margin design. In addition, when the output content is all text, the layout calculation part250may output the advertisement content to the center of printing paper. In addition, when specific advertisement content is set to be printed as a background in the center of the printing paper, an aspect ratio and size of an advertisement image are adjusted according to the size and aspect ratio of the printing paper, so that the advertisement image is inserted inside the printing paper having a particular size thereof and inside the area where the content is printed on the printing paper. In the exemplary embodiment, when advertisement content is printed in the center of the printing paper, the saturation, sharpness, and transparency of the advertisement content are set less than or equal to a predetermined level of saturation and colors of output content, and the transparency is set to exceed a predetermined percentage of the output content, so as to ensure that a user is not only exposed to the advertisement content through the printing paper, but also has no inconvenience in reading the output content.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, when outputting an advertisement to a computing device during a print waiting time, the layout calculation part250adjusts a layout of advertisement content in consideration of a size and an aspect ratio of an output screen, so as to allow the advertisement to be output to the computing device without design distortion of the advertisement content.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the layout calculation part250sets keywords according to advertisement types in advertisement content, and identifies the keywords of content to be printed. Thereafter, by comparing the keywords of the content output on a printout with the keywords according to the advertisement type, the advertisement content having a large number of keywords matching the keywords of the output content may be preferentially printed as the advertisement content in the printout.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the layout calculation part250adjusts the size of the advertisement content according to the number of times in which the content keywords and the advertisement keywords, which are output on the printing paper match to each other, so as to allow the advertisement to be output on the printout. For example, the size of the advertisement content printed on the printout may be adjusted to increase in proportion to the number of times in which the keywords indicating the advertisement content and the keywords indicating output content match to each other.

In addition, when the number of pages of printout is greater than or equal to a preset number, or when a print waiting time exceeds a predetermined time, the layout calculation part250may adjust the size of the advertisement content to the minimum size thereof, or may adjust the advertisement content to be output only on odd-numbered pages or even-numbered pages, in order to reduce the print waiting time. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the layout calculation part250adjusts a layout and horizontal and vertical sizes of the advertisement content that is output to the printout so that the size of the printed advertisement content becomes smaller as the number of output sheets of paper increases, whereby, when printing a printout having the number of output sheets of paper or the amount of printing that exceeds a predetermined level, it is ensured that the printing time is not delayed due to the printing of the advertisement content.

The advertisement output part270outputs a selected advertisement according to the layout of a computing device or a printout. In the exemplary embodiment, when the advertisement is output on a printout, the advertisement is printed on the top or bottom margin and a page number area according to the layout of the printout.

Hereinafter, an advertisement method of an advertisement system of a printer according to the exemplary embodiment will be described in sequence. Since the operation (i.e., function) of the advertisement method according to the exemplary embodiment is essentially the same as the function on the advertisement system of the printer, a description overlapping with that inFIGS. 1 to 3will be omitted.

FIG. 4is a signal flow diagram of the advertisement system of the printer according to the exemplary embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 4, in step S10, the central server100stores and updates user information and detailed output device information.

In step S20, an output request signal to be transmitted from a computing device to an output device is generated. In the exemplary embodiment, the output request signal, as a print request message, includes content to be printed, the size and the number of printing paper, layout information, and the like. In step S30, the output request signal is transmitted from the computing device300to the output device200. The output device200receives the output request signal in step S40, and calculates a print waiting time in step S50on the basis of content data and the number and size of prints, which are included in the output request signal.

In step S60, an advertisement method is determined, and in step S70, the detailed output device information and the user information are transmitted from the central server100to the output device200. In step S80, an advertisement to be exposed through an output device or a printout is selected by using the user information and the detailed output device information received from the output device200, and in step S90, a layout of the advertisement to be output is calculated. In step S95, the output device200transmits the layout and the information on the selected advertisement to the interconnected computing device300. In step S100, the advertisement is output on a screen of the computing device, or is printed on a printout.

FIG. 5is a flowchart illustrating in more detail a process of determining an advertisement exposure method in step S60according to the exemplary embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 5, in step S60, a step of determining the advertisement method is entered. In order to determine the advertisement exposure method, in step S61, a print waiting time is calculated according to a print request signal, and the calculated print waiting time is compared with a set time. When the print waiting time is less than the set time, in step S63, a layout of a printout is determined in order to expose an advertisement by means of the printout. When the print waiting time exceeds the set time, an advertisement exposure time is secured for greater than or equal to a predetermined amount of time even though the advertisement is displayed on a computing device during the print waiting time, so a step S80is entered, thereby selecting the advertisement to be displayed on an output device and calculating the layout corresponding to the selected advertisement.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, in step S63, the layout calculation part250identifies a size of an advertisement, and a size, a blank space, a margin of a printout included in a print request signal transmitted to an output device, so that the advertisement is printed in the margin of the printout. For example, a step S63may include: calculating, by the layout calculation part250, each blank space size of the top, bottom, and sides of a printout; adjusting a size and an aspect ratio of advertisement content according to an aspect ratio of each blank space; and printing the advertisement content, for which the size and proportion thereof is adjusted, on the printout without the proportion distortion. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, advertisement content may be output together with page numbers, or the advertisement content may be printed on the printout by inserting the advertisement content into page number design or upper and lower margin design. In addition, in step S63, when output content is all text, the layout calculation part250may output the advertisement content to the center of printing paper. In addition, when specific advertisement content is set to be printed as a background in the center of the printing paper, the aspect ratio and the size of an advertisement image are adjusted according to the size and aspect ratio of the printing paper, so that the advertisement image is inserted inside the printing paper having the size thereof and inside the area where the content is printed on the printing paper. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, when advertisement content is printed in the center of the printing paper, the saturation, sharpness, and transparency of the advertisement content is set less than or equal to a predetermined level of saturation and colors of output content, and the transparency is set to exceed a predetermined percentage of the output content, so as to ensure that a user is not only exposed to the advertisement content through the printing paper, but also has no inconvenience in reading the output content.

In addition, in step S63, the layout calculation part250sets keywords according to advertisement types in the advertisement content, and identifies the keywords of content to be printed. Thereafter, by comparing the keywords of the content output on a printout with the keywords according to the advertisement type, the advertisement content having a large number of keywords matching the keywords of the output content may be preferentially printed as the advertisement content in the printout.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, in step S63, the layout calculation part250adjusts the size of the advertisement content according to the number of times in which the content keywords and the advertisement keywords, which are output on printing paper match to each other, so as to allow the advertisement to be output on the printout. For example, the size of advertisement content printed on a printout may be adjusted to increase in proportion to the number of times in which keywords indicating the advertisement content and keywords indicating output content match to each other.

In addition, in step63, when the number of pages of printout is greater than or equal to a preset number, or when a print waiting time exceeds a predetermined time, the layout calculation part250may adjust the size of advertisement content to the minimum size thereof, or may adjust the advertisement content to be output only on odd-numbered pages or even-numbered pages, in order reduce the print waiting time. In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, the layout calculation part250adjusts a layout and horizontal and vertical sizes of advertisement content output to a printout so that the size of the printed advertisement content becomes smaller as the number of output sheets of paper increases, whereby, when printing the printout having the number of output sheets of paper or the amount of printing that exceeds a predetermined level, it is ensured that the printing time is not delayed due to the printing of the advertisement content.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment, when a user desires to increase the advertisement exposure in the advertisement system of the printer, the selected advertisement may be displayed on the computing device during the print waiting time, and at the same time, the advertisement content may be printed on the printout. In addition, when the user sets the advertisement to be output on the printout, the advertisement may be printed on the printout regardless of the print waiting time.

The advertisement system of the printer as described above outputs a customized advertisement selected according to a customer on a screen of a computing device during a print waiting time that inevitably occurs when using a printer, so as to calculate an advertisement fee and a reward, thereby enabling both the user who rented the printer and the rental company to generate additional revenue. In addition, an advertisement is exposed during the print waiting time that inevitably occurs during operation of prints, whereby the advertising effectiveness may be improved. In addition, when the calculated print waiting time is less than a predetermined time, the advertisement content is allowed to be printed on the printout, so that the advertising effectiveness may be generated even with the short print waiting time.

The disclosed subject matter is only an example, and without departing from the gist of the claims claimed in the claims, various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, so the scope of protection of the disclosed subject matter is not limited to the specific exemplary embodiment described above in detail.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The advertisement system of the printer as described above calculates an advertisement fee and a reward by respectively displaying or outputting an advertisement with a computing device or a printout during a print waiting time that inevitably occurs when using a printer, thereby enabling both a rental company and a user who rented the printer to generate additional revenue, and enabling the rental company to increase advertising effectiveness by exposing the advertisement during the print waiting time that inevitably occurs. In addition, when the calculated print waiting time is less than a predetermined time, advertisement content is allowed to be printed on the printout, so that the advertising effectiveness may be generated even with a short print waiting time.