Coordination in a distributed system

Abstract

Respective coordinators are spawned or activated to coordinate activities with regard to respective tasks. Where the respective tasks require cooperative efforts of a plurality of controllers, the respective coordinators ensure cooperative efforts by generating and communicating cooperative commands to the plurality of controllers. The coordinators may act as clearinghouses for system data, selectively requesting and relaying system information to appropriate controllers. For example, a document processing system activates respective coordinators for respective sheets of print media. The respective coordinators orchestrate the transportation of the sheets by sequentially orchestrating the activities of sequentially selected pluralities of transportation actuator controllers. Selected sheet position information from sensors and / or from models maintained by the actuator controllers may be relayed by the coordinators to selected actuator controllers as appropriate to the sheet transportation tasks.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE [0001] The following applications, the disclosures of each being totally incorporated herein by reference are mentioned: U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed, for Communication in a Distributed System by Markus P. J. Fromherz, et al. (20041213-US-NP, XERZ 2 00864); U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed, for Synchronization in a Distributed System by Lara S. Crawford, et al. (20041209-US-NP, XERZ 2 00862); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed, for On-The-Fly State Synchronization in a Distributed System by Haitham A. Hindi, et al. (20041214-US-NP, XERZ 2 00865).BACKGROUND [0002] There is illustrated herein in embodiments, an architecture including methods and systems for coordinating activities in a distributed system. For example, a distributed system may include a collection of modules, each with its own function. The collection of modules is interconnected to carry out a particular function or functions. The interconnection may be p...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method for coordinating controllers in a distributed control system that can perform multiple tasks simultaneously. The method involves activating a coordinator for each task, identifying subtasks within the task, and assigning controllers to perform the subtasks. The coordinator also collects progress information from information sources and communicates it to the controllers. The system can include marking engines and transportation systems. The technical effect of this method is improved efficiency and productivity in completing multiple tasks simultaneously.

Problems solved by technology

However, as system size increases, the computational capabilities of a single platform can be overwhelmed.

Additionally, providing individual interfaces between the single computational platform and each of the sensors and actuators of the system can be impractical.

Furthermore, where it is desirable to assemble or reconfigure a system from various subcomponents, the direct interfacing of sensors and actuators to the central platform becomes problematic.

This may limit the scalability of the system.

For example, as the size of the system increases, the capabilities and / or resources of the main control coordinator (or processor running the main control coordinator) may be overwhelmed.

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