Cartridge Ordering Control Device for Printers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for ordering cartridges for image recording apparatuses with multiple cartridges result in high shipping costs and waste of printing agents, as new cartridges often arrive while residual agents remain in the old cartridges, leading to unnecessary replacement.
Innovation Solution
A control device that acquires and stores residual quantity indices for multiple cartridges, sets an order condition based on expected depletion times, and transmits an order command when the condition is met, ensuring new cartridges arrive after the old ones are fully depleted and residual agents are utilized.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If multiple cartridges are ordered simultaneously, then shipping costs are reduced, but printing agents may be wasted if old cartridges are replaced before depletion
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by calculating the expected depletion timing of printing agents in both cartridges and tanks before placing the order. The order timing is determined in advance based on these calculations, ensuring that cartridges arrive exactly when needed - after the old cartridges are depleted but while the tank still contains residual agent. This preliminary calculation prevents both premature replacement (wasting agent) and delayed ordering (increasing shipping costs).
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the residual quantity detection mechanism to continuously monitor the printing agent levels in both cartridges and tanks. This feedback information is fed into the timing calculation algorithm, which adjusts the order timing based on the actual consumption rate and remaining quantities. The feedback loop ensures that the order is placed at the optimal moment to avoid wasting residual agent in the tank while benefiting from consolidated shipping.
2Loss of substance
If cartridges are ordered individually, then printing agent waste is minimized, but shipping costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations to determine the optimal order timing that allows multiple cartridges to be ordered together without wasting printing agent. By calculating the expected depletion timing in advance, the system identifies the precise window when consolidated ordering is beneficial - ensuring that cartridges arrive after old ones are depleted but while tank residual remains. This eliminates the need for individual ordering while preventing agent waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the ordering parameter from individual cartridge orders to batch orders by adjusting the order timing based on calculated depletion patterns. The timing parameter is dynamically adjusted to ensure that multiple cartridges can be ordered simultaneously at the optimal moment - when the benefit of consolidated shipping outweighs the risk of residual agent waste, thereby reducing shipping costs without sacrificing agent utilization efficiency.
3Reliability
If cartridges are ordered early, then continuous printing is ensured, but residual printing agent in tanks is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary timing calculations to determine the precise moment when cartridge replacement should occur. Instead of ordering early or on fixed schedules, the system calculates the expected depletion timing based on current consumption rates and residual quantities. This preliminary action identifies the optimal replacement window that ensures continuous printing (by ordering before actual depletion) while maximizing the utilization of residual agent in the tank (by delaying replacement until necessary).
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the residual quantity of printing agent in both cartridges and tanks through detection mechanisms. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust the order timing calculation, ensuring that replacement is scheduled at the precise moment when it becomes necessary. The feedback loop prevents premature replacement that would waste tank residual while ensuring that ordering occurs early enough to maintain continuous printing operations.
4Loss of substance
If cartridges are ordered late, then printing agent utilization is maximized, but printing continuity may be interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations that account for both the depletion timing and the delivery lead time. By calculating the expected depletion timing in advance and adding the known delivery period, the system determines the optimal order initiation time. This preliminary action ensures that the order is placed late enough to maximize agent utilization but early enough to ensure continuous printing - the cartridge arrives just as the old one is depleted, preventing any interruption in printing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from residual quantity detection to continuously refine the order timing calculation. The feedback information about actual consumption rates allows the system to adjust the predicted depletion timing, ensuring that the order is placed at the optimal moment. This feedback mechanism balances the two competing requirements - maximizing agent utilization by delaying orders while ensuring printing continuity by accounting for delivery lead times in the timing calculation.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A controller sets an order condition requiring that one of a latest index value and a current timing reach corresponding one of a reference index value and a reference timing. The order condition is set so that a first cartridge is delivered to a predetermined destination at a first timing. The first cartridge is expected to be out of a printing agent while a first tank is expected to still accommodate the printing agent at the first timing. The controller transmits, in response to determining that a second cartridge is expected to be out of a printing agent while a second tank is expected to still accommodate the printing agent at the first timing, an order command instructing to order the first cartridge and the second cartridge to a relevant device after the order condition is satisfied.