Dynamic Print Job Routing for Nozzle Failure Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image recording systems, such as printers, often prioritize the printer with the shortest rise time for print jobs regardless of user requests, leading to inefficiencies when a printer with a high failure nozzle proportion is used, resulting in extended processing times due to necessary suction purging.
Innovation Solution
An image recording system comprising multiple printers and a server that performs ejection determination to identify printers with lower failure nozzle proportions, allowing the server to reroute print jobs to printers with fewer faulty nozzles, thereby reducing processing times and maintaining image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the printer with the shortest rise time is selected for print jobs, then the processing speed is improved, but the image quality deteriorates due to high failure nozzle proportion requiring suction purging
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the failure nozzle proportion of each printer through ejection determination. The server receives this information and uses it to dynamically adjust print job allocation, selecting printers based on their current nozzle health status rather than static rise time metrics alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The printer selection mechanism transitions from a static approach (always selecting the printer with shortest rise time) to a dynamic approach where the server considers both rise time and failure nozzle proportion. This allows the system to adapt to changing printer conditions and optimize for both speed and quality based on current state.
2Adaptability or versatility
If printers with high failure nozzle proportion are used, then device utilization is improved, but the productivity deteriorates due to extended processing times from suction purging
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary ejection determination to assess the failure nozzle proportion of each printer before allocating print jobs. This advance assessment allows the server to proactively avoid printers that would require time-consuming suction purging, thereby maintaining high productivity while still utilizing multiple devices.
3Measurement precision
If ejection determination is performed for all printers, then the measurement precision of nozzle condition is improved, but the loss of time increases due to additional determination steps
Solution Approach 1:
The ejection determination mechanism serves multiple functions: it measures nozzle condition for quality assessment, provides data for printer selection optimization, and enables dynamic load balancing across the printer network. This multi-functionality justifies the time investment by extracting maximum value from the measurement process.
Data Source
AI summary
An image recording system includes a plurality of image recording apparatuses. In a case where a certain image recording apparatus of the image recording apparatuses has a failure nozzle proportion of failure nozzles of all the nozzles of the recording head smaller than or equal to a threshold, image recording is performed on the certain image recording apparatus based on a recording instruction. In a case where the certain image recording apparatus has a failure nozzle proportion exceeding the threshold, a recording instruction is transmitted to a different image recording apparatus having a failure nozzle proportion smaller than that of the certain image recording apparatus, and image recording is performed on the different image recording apparatus based on the recording instruction.