JP2001285764A - Network print service system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network print service system for solving the problem of the efficiency improvement of a communication speed or the like and security in terms of management, etc., for customers. SOLUTION: Since this system is provided with at least one laboratory server 31 installed in a laboratory provided with a printer 31a capable of outputting prints based on image data and communicable via a network and plural management servers 21b-23b capable of providing the customers with information required for ordering the prints via the network, on a customer side, access is performed with one of the management servers 21b-23b capable of providing the information required for ordering the prints. Thus, the possibility that a line becomes a busy state is low, the transmission time of the information can be short, the possibility of making the customer wait is reduced and communication costs charged corresponding to communication time can be suppressed low.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network print service system for providing a service for printing an image to a customer via a network such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital cameras and home digital printers have been spreading at a remarkable rate due to the development of high image quality technology. Along with this, the users who use the digital images are becoming more conscious of digital images, and are being used for various purposes such as creating home pages on the Internet and digital printing. On the other hand, of course, output centers and mini-labs (small-scale laboratories) that provide image print services and large laboratories that perform centralized processing are also increasing the services that handle digital image data, and the service variations are diverse.

In recent years, with the spread of the Internet,
In addition to getting information from the homepage, shopping, enjoying downloading images and software, and sending e-mails have become extremely common.

Here, as a method of providing a photo-related service to a customer, a scanner or a printer is arranged in a large lab or an output center, a photographic image taken by the customer is stored in an image server, and the customer connects the image server to the Internet. There has been proposed a network business that provides various services such as access to prints, uploading of images, and downloading of images through access. As an advantage of this network business, it is possible to place orders at home and receive services unique to digital images, so it is expected to be a great advantage for end users and a service that will grow in the future, but on the other hand, the order receiving side For this position, various forms of orders come in one after another,
At present, it is very difficult to quickly check the contents of the order and process it efficiently. Of course, it is fully anticipated that such services will be rolled out to minilabs.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-154218 discloses
In this publication, a network photo service performed via a network is proposed. According to this technology, a photo server can be provided via a network by a center server arranged in a service center and a lab server arranged in a mini lab. However, all management such as image ordering, print instruction, and customer management is performed by the center server. It has been found that various problems actually occur due to the intensive operation.

[0006]

According to this prior art service, for example, when a plurality of customers simultaneously access the center server and upload or download an order image, the line becomes busy. , When one of your customers tries to place an order for an image, there ’s a noticeable slowdown in access speed,
In particular, opening the web page for ordering or opening the next page takes time, and makes the customer wait for a long time. In addition, while waiting, the line is maintained in a connected state, so that the communication fee is charged accordingly, and the customer is forced to bear a considerable load. Furthermore, as the resolution and image quality of a digital camera become higher, the amount of image data becomes larger, so that the problem relating to the transfer time is serious.

In a centralized management server such as a center server, the system is easy to manage, but if it goes down, if it is attacked by hacking or the like, the whole system goes down completely. Security issues remain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has as its object to provide a network print service system which solves problems such as efficiency of communication speed and security in management for customers.

[0009]

A network print service system according to a first aspect of the present invention is installed in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data, and is provided with at least one communicable network. It is characterized by having a lab server and a plurality of management servers capable of providing information necessary for ordering prints by sealing them to customers via the network.

A network print service system according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data and at least one lab server capable of communicating via a network,
A plurality of management servers capable of providing information necessary for a print order to a customer via the network, wherein the management server is a server divided for each of a plurality of functions. Features.

A network print service system according to a third aspect of the present invention is provided in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data and at least one lab server capable of communicating via a network,
A plurality of management servers capable of providing information necessary for ordering a print to a customer via a network, wherein the management server has a plurality of servers having the same functions distributed therein. Features.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network print service system installed in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data, and at least one lab server communicable via a network; Since there are a plurality of management servers that can provide information necessary for print order by sealing to the customer, the customer can access any of the management servers that can provide information necessary for print order. Since it is possible, the possibility of the line becoming busy is low, the transmission time of such information is short, the risk of having customers wait is reduced, and the communication cost charged according to the communication time can be suppressed. .

The "information necessary for ordering prints" refers to information necessary for creating order data for receiving a print service. The print service includes not only services such as the above-mentioned additional prints and creation of postcards containing photographs, but also all ancillary services performed until the photographic prints are delivered to the customer. Specifically, for example, a service of mailing or delivering the completed print without receiving it at the store, a service of notifying the customer of the completion of the print by e-mail, and a period in which the storage period of the digital image data in the first server ends. To e-mail the customer, extend the storage period by e-mail from the customer, specify the lab to receive the prints, return the ordered prints to an album, commemorative photos, etc. A service such as attaching a print on a backing with a picture and returning it is possible.

Therefore, "information necessary for ordering prints" includes, but is not limited to, information necessary for the customer to determine which of the above services is possible.

A network print service system according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data, and at least one lab server communicable via a network;
A plurality of management servers capable of providing information necessary for a print order to a customer via the network, and since the management server is a server divided for each of a plurality of functions, For example, by dividing each server into functions such as a server that receives access from a customer terminal and a server that receives access from the lab server, it is possible to suppress the line from becoming busy and reduce transmission time. .

Further, the order data created on the customer side based on the information necessary for the print order obtained from the management server is directly transmitted from the customer side terminal to the lab server, and the received lab server transmits the order data. Based on the order data, if necessary, a command to transfer image information to the management server is provided, so that it is not necessary to transmit order data to the management server, and the management server It is possible to prevent the frequency of access to the line from decreasing and the line from becoming busy.

If the management server has at least one reception management server having a reception function that can be directly accessed from the customer terminal, the server exclusively performs reception from the customer terminal. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the line from becoming busy.

Further, the image data stored in the lab server is high-resolution data ordered from a customer, and the image data stored in the management server is higher than the high-resolution data stored in the lab server. If the data amount is low-resolution data, for example, the customer can read the low-resolution data from the management server in a short time and create the order data, and can send the order data including the low-resolution data to the lab server in a short time. It is convenient because it can be sent in time. On the other hand, a high-quality image can be printed by using the high-resolution data stored in the lab server for the image to be printed.

A network print service system according to a third aspect of the present invention is provided in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data and at least one lab server capable of communicating via a network,
A plurality of management servers capable of providing information necessary for a print order to a customer via a network, and since the management server has a plurality of servers having the same function, For example, by providing a plurality of servers that receive access from a customer terminal to provide information on an order, it is possible to prevent a connection line with the customer terminal from becoming busy. Also, even if one server goes down for some reason,
If another server having a similar function is normal, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the entire system goes down.

Further, the order data created on the customer side based on the information necessary for the print order obtained from the management server is directly transmitted from the customer side terminal to the lab server, and the received lab server transmits the order data. Based on the order data, if necessary, a command to transfer image information to the management server is provided, so that it is not necessary to transmit order data to the management server, and the management server It is possible to prevent the frequency of access to the line from decreasing and the line from becoming busy.

The image data stored in the lab server is high-resolution data reordered by a customer, and the image data stored in the management server is high-resolution data stored in the lab server. In the case of low-resolution data with a smaller data amount, for example, the customer can read the low-resolution data from the management server in a short time to create order data, and can send the order data including the low-resolution data to the lab server. This is convenient because it can be sent in a short time. On the other hand, a high-quality image can be printed by using the high-resolution data stored in the lab server for the image to be printed.

In the present invention, the lab server includes an image forming apparatus capable of outputting digital image data.
A server computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a server) installed in a so-called laboratory that can provide services that handle photos. Further, the lab server needs to be provided with communication means and capable of mutually communicating image data with a customer or a management server via a network.

It is preferable that the lab can receive a print order from a customer and store the image data of the customer in the lab server or the management server. A print order is a developed or undeveloped film taken by a customer, such as a negative film or a reversal film. Further, the image data includes image data captured by a digital camera (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a digital camera), original image data created by a customer, and the like. These order data can be received, the image can be read using an image reading device or the like, and the data can be distributed to a management server or the like together with the customer identification information.
Ordered prints and image recording media can be delivered at stores or distributed by mail.

The term "network" used herein refers to a network in which computer systems, terminals, and data communication equipment are interconnected. The connection may be connected by a wire such as a dedicated line or a public line, may be connected wirelessly through a communication satellite or the like, or may be connected in a complex form thereof. The so-called Internet is also included in the network.

Further, the “image forming apparatus” here is
A device having a function of creating digital image data, for example, a device having a function of processing image data, a device for writing image data to a recording medium, or a device capable of outputting image data.

The functions for processing digital image data include:
This function can perform various image processing such as compression, decompression, and synthesis.
More specifically, in addition to simply pasting multiple images into one or compressing / decompressing images,
Layout processing such as pasting of character data, retouching processing by modifying the original image, filtering and edge processing that emphasizes sharpness of the image, noise processing to control roughness, color correction to correct color balance, A function that enables all processes related to image processing such as density correction. Various types of image processing may have a function of performing processing automatically, or may have a function of performing processing manually using software capable of performing image processing. Normally, image processing is performed on a personal computer via software capable of performing image processing, but a hardware device that also has an image processing unit may be used.

An apparatus for writing image data on a recording medium is a magnetic recording medium (floppy (registered trademark) disk, ZIP, DAT, photothermal recording medium (CD-
R, CD-ROM), magneto-optical recording medium (MO, DV)
D), a device having a function of writing to a recording medium such as a PCMCIA card or a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk, etc. Usually, in order to write image data, a dedicated device for writing the recording medium is used. Preferably, it is connected to a personal computer either internally or externally.

Specific examples of the recording medium writing device include an MO drive, a ZIP drive, a DAT drive, a CD-R drive, a DVD-ROM drive, and an MO drive.
Drive, PCMCIA card throttle.

The apparatus capable of outputting image data refers to an apparatus having a function of printing digital image data on a print or a hard copy. The image output device,
Although there is no particular limitation, a digital printer using a silver halide photographic material, an inkjet printer, a sublimation printer, a thermal transfer printer, a laser printer, a digital copy, etc. are preferable. Particularly, a printer using a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, an ink jet printer, and the like are preferable because a high-quality image can be obtained. A plurality of these devices may be connected, or any one of them may be used.

On the other hand, the management server refers to a service having a function capable of providing a network image service, such as order reception, image browsing, image storage, and customer information management, via a network. The management server of the present invention is characterized in that the management server includes a plurality of management servers. The plurality of management servers are divided into functions such as a server having a function of receiving an order, a server having a function of storing images, a server having a function of browsing images, and a server having a function of managing customer information. This means that there are multiple servers. Further, the present invention includes a plurality of servers having similar functions. A server having a similar function means a state in which a plurality of servers have all the above functions. However, this does not mean that the contents are copied, and if there is a function, there is no particular problem even if the contents are not exactly the same. The advantage of having multiple servers is that they can accept orders from multiple customers at the same time, reduce the decrease in transfer speed for uploading and downloading image data, reduce customer communication costs and lab communication costs. Can be very effective. In addition, when distributed to a plurality of servers, even if one server goes down, it is not completely unusable, so there is a great merit in terms of security.

Here, the “server having a function of receiving an order” is a server that can provide information necessary for receiving via a network. For example, a registration screen for registering a customer (a screen called sign-up), a screen for permitting access to the server (a screen called sign-in or login), or a pre-stored image is provided. Server that can accept orders.

On the other hand, the "server having a function of storing images" has a function of storing images in association with customer information, for example, and stores image data obtained from customers in a large-capacity storage device. It has a function. There is no particular limitation on the capacity of the storage device for storing the image data, but it is desirable that the storage device has a large capacity in GB (gigabyte) or TB (terabyte) units.

The "server having a function of managing customer information" means customer management information (account information) of a customer.
The customer management information includes, for example, name, address, E-mail address, gender, date of birth, customer ID, settlement information, and the like.

In addition, it is conceivable to provide a server for monitoring each lab and managing maintenance information, sales management information, and the like. It is also effective in the present invention to disperse these servers into a plurality of servers. is there.

Each of the servers having these functions may be divided into a plurality of servers. In other words, when accepting images,
The screens and thumbnail images to be displayed are in a reception management server or the like. When the customer uploads the order image after the reception, the image storage server is used. More preferably, when uploading the order image, uploading it directly to the lab server is efficient because the load on the management server is reduced.

Uploading an image means transferring target image data via a network. For example, it is possible to transfer image data from a home terminal via a network, transfer the image data to a server computer, and check desired image data from home.

[0037]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, before describing the embodiment, a comparative example will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a comparative example showing a service system including one management server. First, a case will be described in which a plurality of customers receive a service for ordering prints of digital camera images taken by themselves.

In FIG. 3, the customer-side terminal 11 of the customer A
And the customer-side terminal 12 of the customer B and the customer-side terminal 1 of the customer C
3, the single management server 21, and the lab server 3 of the store A
1, the lab server 32 of the store B, and the lab server 33 of the store C are connected to a network such as the Internet. In store A which is a lab, the lab server 31
Is a printer 3 which is an image forming apparatus via a LAN or the like.
1a. Although not shown in FIG. 3, in the stores B and C, the lab servers 32 and 33
It is connected to a printer as an image forming apparatus via a LAN or the like.

Here, the customer A accesses the management server 21 from the customer terminal 11 and logs in to receive the print service. Then, the target image is sent to the customer terminal 1
The user selects and uploads image data corresponding to the selected image to the management server 21. Subsequently, it is assumed that while the customer A is uploading the image data, the customer B accesses the management server 21 from the customer terminal 12 and starts uploading the image data by the same operation.
Then, the speed at which the customer A and the customer B transfer image data is reduced.

Thereafter, if the customer C starts to access the management server 21 from the customer terminal 13 while the customers A and B are uploading the image data, the customers A and B are already accessing the management server 21. Since it is in the middle, not only uploading of image data but also speed of downloading various screens such as a login screen and an order reception screen is reduced. Thereafter, when image data starts to be uploaded, there is a problem that the transfer speed of all of the customers A, B, and C is further reduced.

Also, in the case of this system, there is a high possibility that if the management server 21 becomes unavailable due to hacking or the like, there will be a problem that access cannot be performed at all.

Further, when the store A receiving the print order accesses the management server 21 from the lab server 31 and starts the work of downloading the image data for printing, the store B and the store C are simultaneously connected to the lab server. 32,
33 may access the management server 21, but in such a case, the transfer time for downloading is also long. In other words, according to the print service of the comparative example, since communication time is required for the customer side,
It takes time to create order data and communication cost increases,
The store also has a problem that, since the communication time is long, it is not possible to respond quickly to printing, the communication cost increases, and as a result, the print price increases.

On the other hand, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned problem can be solved. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network print service system of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a customer-side terminal 11 of customer A, a customer-side terminal 12 of customer B, a customer-side terminal 13 of customer C,
Order receiving server 21a and first image storage server 22
a, the second image storage server 23a, the third image storage server 24a, the lab server 31 of the store A, the lab server 32 of the store B, and the lab server 33 of the store C are connected to a network such as the Internet. Have been. In store A, which is a lab, the lab server 31 is connected to a printer 31a, which is an image forming apparatus, via a LAN or the like. Although not shown in FIG. 1, stores B and C
Also, the lab servers 32 and 33 are connected to a printer as an image forming apparatus via a LAN or the like.

An order receiving server 21a, a first image storage server 22a, a second image storage server 23a,
The management server 20 is configured by the third image storage server 24a. For comparison with the previous examples, it is assumed that the total storage capacity of the image storage servers 22a to 24a is substantially equal to the capacity of the management server 21 shown in FIG.
Of course, it is not limited to this.

Here, the customer A accesses the order receiving server 21 from the customer terminal 11, logs in, selects an order image on the customer terminal 11, and uploads image data. At this time, the image data to be uploaded is transferred to the first image storage server 22a in accordance with an instruction from the order receiving server 21a. At this time, customer B
Has accessed the second image storage server 23a,
Further, when the customer C accesses, the image data is transferred to the third image storage server 24a. As described above, since the transfer can be performed in parallel, the transfer time can be suppressed.

Further, since the order receiving server 21a is independent, each customer can smoothly create the order data itself, which is very efficient. Further, even if there is an access from the customer, the image receiving server 22 is not using the order receiving server 21a.
Since a to 24a are searched and assigned preferentially to unused servers, the servers can be effectively used, which is very efficient. Also, even if the first image storage server 21a goes down, if the distributed second and third image storage servers 22a and 23a function normally, they can be used, and no access can be made at all. It is avoided from such things.

Further, the stores A, B, and C, which have received the instruction from the order receiving server 21a, store the image data on the image storage servers 22a to 22c in which the image data of the customers A, B, and C are stored, respectively.
Since it is sufficient to directly access 24a, the time for downloading the image data can be shortened, which is very efficient. In addition to the image storage servers 22a to 24a, a customer management server (not shown) for managing customer IDs and the like may be separately arranged and used. As described above, if a plurality of servers having various functions are prepared, the time for both access from a customer and access from a store can be shortened, which is very efficient and can be said to be a very preferable aspect in terms of security.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the network print system of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a customer-side terminal 11 of customer A, a customer-side terminal 12 of customer B, a customer-side terminal 13 of customer C, a first management server 21b, a second management server 22b, and a third The management server 23b, the lab server 31 of the store A, the lab server 32 of the store B, and the lab server 33 of the store C are connected to a network such as the Internet. In store A, which is a lab, the lab server 31 is connected to a printer 31a, which is an image forming apparatus, via a LAN or the like. Although not shown in FIG. 1, in the stores B and C, the lab servers 32 and 33 are connected to a printer as an image forming apparatus via a LAN or the like.

Each of the management servers 21b to 23b is a server having all functions such as reception of an order, storage of an image, and customer management information necessary for satisfying the present service. For comparison with each example, the management server 21b-
It is assumed that the storage capacity including 23b is substantially equal to the capacity of the management server 21 shown in FIG. 3, but is not limited to this.

Here, the customer A accesses the first management server 21b from the customer side terminal 11, logs in, selects an order image on the customer side terminal 11, and uploads the corresponding image data. I do. At the same time,
When the customer B accesses, first, the management server 21b
However, since the management server 21b is in a busy state, access is allocated to the second management server 22b having the same function, and the second management server 22b accepts the access. Further, when customer C accesses, once,
The management server 21b is accessed, but the management server 21b is accessed.
b, since the management server 22b is in a busy state, access is allocated to the third management server 22b having the same function, and the third management server 23b accepts the access. Therefore, as described above, the management server 21 having the same function
By providing a plurality of b to 23b, it is possible to suppress the line from becoming busy even when the customers simultaneously access.

It should be noted that the management server 21b to receive the order
Since there are a plurality of stores 23b, it is considered that the received orders are also distributed and stored in the management servers 21b to 23b. However, the possibility that access is concentrated on one management server is low, and it is possible to suppress the line from becoming busy. Also, even if the first management server 21
Even if b goes down, if the distributed second and third management servers 22b and 23b function normally, they can be used, thereby avoiding the problem that the entire print processing is delayed.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above embodiments, and it is needless to say that modifications and improvements can be made as appropriate. is there.

[0053]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a network print service system which solves problems such as efficiency in communication speed and security in management for a customer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a network print system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the network print system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a comparative example representing a service system including one management server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 12, 13 Customer side terminal 21a Order reception server 22a-24a Image storage server 21b-23b Management server 31-33 Lab server

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C052 AA12 DD04 FA03 FA05 FA08 FC06 5C053 FA04 FA07 FA23 FA29 JA16 KA26 LA03 LA15 5C064 BA01 BA04 BC16 BD02 BD08 BD13

Claims (8)

[Claims] At least one lab server installed in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data and capable of communicating via a network, and ordering a print sealed with a customer via the network A network print service system, comprising: a plurality of management servers capable of providing necessary information to a network print service. At least one lab server installed in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data and capable of communicating via a network, and for ordering a print to a customer via the network. A network print service system, comprising: a plurality of management servers capable of providing necessary information; wherein the management server is a server divided for each of a plurality of functions. 3. Order data created on the customer side based on information necessary for a print order obtained from the management server is directly transmitted from the customer side terminal to the lab server, and received by the lab server. 3. The network print service system according to claim 1, wherein a command to transfer image information to the management server is issued as needed based on the order data. 4. The management server according to claim 1, wherein the management server has at least one reception management server having a reception function that can be directly accessed from a customer terminal. Network print service system. 5. The image data stored in the lab server is high-resolution data ordered from a customer, and the image data stored in the management server is higher than the high-resolution data stored in the lab server. 5. The network print service system according to claim 1, wherein the data is low-resolution data having a small data amount. 6. At least one lab server installed in a lab having an image forming apparatus capable of outputting a print based on image data and capable of communicating via a network, and necessary for ordering a print to a customer via the network. A network print service system, comprising: a plurality of management servers capable of providing detailed information; and wherein the management server includes a plurality of servers having the same functions. 7. Order data created on the customer side based on information necessary for a print order obtained from the management server is directly transmitted from the customer side terminal to the lab server, and received by the lab server. 7. The network print service system according to claim 6, wherein a command to transfer image information to the management server is issued as needed based on the order data. 8. The image data stored in the lab server is high-resolution data received from a customer, and the image data stored in the management server is high-resolution data stored in the lab server. 8. The network print service system according to claim 6, wherein the low-resolution data has a smaller data amount.