Image Forming System Consumable Prediction Method
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face reduced prediction accuracy for consumable consumption due to yearly events with variable schedules, such as final exams, which affect the reliability of consumable usage forecasts based on past records.
Innovation Solution
The image forming system records consumable usage per unit time, acquires prediction data by comparing consumption patterns between a reference time period and a standard time period, and outputs this data to improve prediction accuracy by accounting for specific user occupations and event-related consumption patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If prediction is based on simple past records including yearly events, then data acquisition is simple, but prediction accuracy deteriorates due to variable event schedules
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the consumption data into two distinct categories: regular consumption data (obtained by subtracting event-related consumption from total consumption). This segmentation allows the system to handle predictable regular consumption separately from variable event-driven consumption, improving overall prediction accuracy while managing complexity through structured data organization
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary classification of consumption data into regular and event-related components before making predictions. By pre-processing the data to identify and separate event-driven consumption patterns, the system prepares cleaner baseline data for prediction algorithms, thereby improving accuracy without proportionally increasing processing complexity
2Reliability
If all past consumption data is used for prediction, then more data is available, but prediction reliability worsens due to inclusion of variable event schedules
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates event-related consumption data from the total consumption record. By removing the variable event-driven portion of consumption, the system retains only the stable regular consumption patterns for prediction purposes, thereby improving reliability while effectively managing data volume through selective extraction rather than complete data retention
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming system includes a recording processing portion, an acquirement processing portion, and an output processing portion. The recording processing portion records a consumed amount of a consumable consumed by an image forming apparatus per predetermined unit time. The acquirement processing portion acquires prediction data that indicates a predicted consumed amount of the consumable per the unit time for a time period from a predetermined standard time, based on a comparison result between: a first record result corresponding to a first time period extending to a reference time; and a second record result corresponding to a predetermined second time period extending to the standard time, among a record result recorded by the recording processing portion, the reference time being a predetermined specific time period earlier than the standard time. The output processing portion outputs the prediction data acquired by the acquirement processing portion.