Image Forming Apparatus Job Scheduling and Resource Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face challenges in managing and predicting resource utilization and potential events during job execution, leading to inefficiencies and potential interruptions, especially in production printers handling multiple jobs with varying resource requirements.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus is equipped with a schedule information generation unit, resource acquisition unit, prediction unit, display information generation unit, and display controller to predict and display the timing of resource-related events and their impact on job execution, allowing for proactive management and user intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the image forming apparatus executes a large number of jobs with varying resource requirements, then the productivity is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to potential resource exhaustion and job interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The prediction unit performs preliminary analysis of resource consumption patterns and predicts future resource exhaustion events before they actually occur. The schedule information generation unit uses these predictions to proactively adjust job scheduling, reserving resources in advance and creating buffer time slots, thereby preventing job interruptions and maintaining continuous operation stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors actual resource consumption and compares it with predicted values. When deviations are detected, the feedback mechanism triggers dynamic rescheduling of jobs and adjusts resource allocation in real-time. This closed-loop control ensures that productivity is maintained while preventing resource exhaustion from compromising reliability.
2Ease of operation
If the apparatus provides detailed reservation status and execution timing information, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional prediction and display systems
Solution Approach 1:
The schedule information generation unit serves multiple functions simultaneously: it generates execution schedules, predicts resource exhaustion events, calculates reservation statuses, and creates visual display information. By making this single component multi-functional, the system achieves detailed job status visibility without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The prediction unit acts as an intermediary between the job execution system and the display interface. It processes raw resource consumption data, translates it into meaningful predictions and reservation statuses, and feeds this information to the display generation unit. This intermediary layer simplifies the overall system architecture by centralizing the prediction logic.
3Reliability
If the apparatus predicts and displays event timing to enable proactive management, then the reliability is improved, but the loss of time increases due to prediction and display processing
Solution Approach 1:
The prediction unit focuses computational resources on predicting only the most critical resource exhaustion events that could interrupt job execution, rather than attempting to predict all possible system states. This selective prediction approach maintains high reliability for critical events while minimizing unnecessary processing time and computational overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes: a schedule information generation unit that generates schedule information including an order of execution of received jobs; an acquisition unit that acquires resource information related to a resource used to execute a job; a prediction unit that predicts a timing of occurrence of an event that possibly occurs in the apparatus as the received jobs are executed in accordance with the order of execution on the basis of the schedule information and the resource information; a display information generation unit that generates display information for displaying a period of execution of the job to be executed and the timing of occurrence of the event along the same time axis, and for displaying a degree of influence of the event on execution of the job; and a display controller that controls display of the display information.