Adaptive Power States in Distributed Raster Image Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Maintaining all computers in a distributed digital front end (DFE) system at full power results in substantial electrical supply and cooling costs, as the processing requirements are not efficiently managed.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where the frontend computer monitors printing speed and processing time to dynamically place raster image processing computers into reduced-power sleep mode when the buffer is between a minimum and maximum capacity, and returns them to full power when needed, based on predicted printing demands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If all raster image processing computers are maintained in full-power state, then printing productivity is ensured, but electrical energy consumption and cooling costs increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the power state of raster image processing computers based on real-time monitoring of buffer capacity and prediction of future printing demands. Computers transition between full-power and reduced-power states according to workload conditions, optimizing the balance between productivity and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The frontend computer predicts future printing speed and buffer capacity requirements in advance, allowing raster image processing computers to be placed in reduced-power mode proactively before actual idle conditions occur, ensuring both energy savings and continuous printing capability.
2Use of energy by moving object
If raster image processing computers are placed in reduced-power sleep mode to save energy, then electrical power consumption decreases, but printing productivity may be compromised if computers cannot respond quickly enough to increased demand
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors buffer capacity and compares it against minimum and maximum thresholds, using this feedback to determine when to transition computers between power states. This closed-loop control ensures that productivity requirements are met while maximizing energy savings during appropriate conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
By predicting future printing demands based on current printing speed and scheduled events, the system proactively maintains buffer capacity within acceptable ranges, ensuring that computers can be placed in sleep mode without compromising future printing productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Raster image processing computer devices buffer pages of print-ready bitmaps waiting to be printed by a printing engine. A computer device monitors the printing speed of the printing engine and estimates the processing time for the raster image processing computer devices to produce the print-ready bitmaps, based on the complexity of the pages of the print job. The computer device compares the printing speed to the processing time to predict whether the number of pages of the print-ready bitmaps buffered by the raster image processing computer devices will increase or decrease. The computer device places one or more of the raster image processing computer devices in a reduced-power sleep mode when the number of pages of the print-ready bitmaps buffered is between a buffer minimum and a buffer maximum, and is predicted to not decrease.