Operating Environment Evaluation for Image Processors

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current image processing apparatus maintenance technologies fail to reduce the frequency of malfunctions, leading to unchanged maintenance visit frequencies despite predictive maintenance efforts.

Innovation Solution

An operating environment evaluation system that acquires and evaluates physical parameters like temperature, humidity, and power-off events to generate an environment properness level, using weighting coefficients to calculate a comprehensive operating environment score, enabling more informed maintenance scheduling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If predictive maintenance technology is implemented to predict malfunctions, then maintenance timing can be optimized, but the frequency of malfunctions cannot be reduced and maintenance visit frequency remains unchanged

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemalfunction prediction accuracyVSAvoidmaintenance visit frequency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors operating environment parameters (temperature, humidity, power-off events) and feeds this information back to evaluate environment properness levels. This feedback mechanism allows the system to identify environmental factors causing malfunctions and adjust maintenance strategies accordingly, potentially reducing unnecessary maintenance visits while improving reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new parameter - environment properness level - that evaluates operating conditions based on multiple physical parameters. By changing the maintenance approach from time-based to condition-based monitoring using this composite parameter, the system can reduce maintenance visit frequency while maintaining or improving reliability through more targeted interventions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If multiple physical quantity measurements are conducted to evaluate operating environment, then environment properness can be assessed comprehensively, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenvironment evaluation accuracyVSAvoidmonitoring system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges multiple physical quantity measurements (temperature, humidity, power-off event counts) into a single comprehensive evaluation metric - the environment properness level. This consolidation approach maintains measurement precision by considering multiple factors while reducing system complexity through unified evaluation and simplified data processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The environment properness level serves as a universal indicator that can assess multiple aspects of operating environment quality simultaneously. This multi-functional metric reduces the need for separate complex monitoring systems for each parameter, as the unified evaluation can trigger appropriate maintenance actions based on overall environment conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10069995B2Operating environment evaluation system, control method, and program

Publication Date: 2018.09.04 KK TOSHIBA

AI summary

There is provided an operating environment evaluation system that includes a physical quantity acquisition unit and a generation unit. The physical quantity unit acquires a physical quantity indicating an operating environment of an image processing apparatus. The generation unit generates an operating environment properness level of the image processing apparatus based on the physical quantity that is acquired by the physical quantity acquisition unit.