Ink Distribution Computation for Fair Cost Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing devices fail to appropriately allocate the amount of maintenance ink usage to recording jobs, leading to inconsistent and unfair ink cost calculations, especially when timer cleaning is performed before recording jobs, causing distrust and unfairness among users.
Innovation Solution
An information processing device and program that compute the ink distribution amount by calculating the ink distribution ratio based on cumulative total consumption amounts, allowing for accurate allocation of ink usage to each recording job, reflecting the operation status of the recording apparatus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If maintenance ink usage is allocated evenly or proportionally to printing jobs based on ink usage, then the allocation process is simple, but the allocation does not reflect the actual operation status of the recording apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by accumulating total consumption amounts and recording consumption amounts before the actual ink allocation calculation. This allows the allocation to be based on pre-computed cumulative values that reflect the actual operation status, including timer cleaning operations, rather than calculating from scratch each time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by comparing the allocated ink amounts with the actual cumulative consumption patterns. The allocation ratio is dynamically adjusted based on the feedback from recorded consumption data, ensuring that the allocation reflects the true operation status while maintaining computational efficiency.
2Device complexity
If ink allocation is performed only at the end of multiple printing jobs, then the computation is simplified, but the ink cost calculation is delayed and does not provide timely information
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary accumulation of consumption amounts during job execution, so that when allocation is needed, the computation can be performed immediately with pre-prepared data. This eliminates delays while keeping the actual allocation computation simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous accumulation of consumption data throughout the operation of the recording apparatus, ensuring that ink cost calculations can be performed at any time without interruption or delay, while the computational load remains distributed and manageable.
3Measurement precision
If the cumulative total consumption amounts are used for allocation, then the ink distribution reflects actual operation status, but the computation becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-computes and stores cumulative total consumption amounts and recording consumption amounts as jobs are executed. This preliminary action transforms the complex real-time calculation into a simpler ratio computation based on pre-aggregated data, maintaining accuracy while reducing computational complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing device includes an ink distribution amount computation unit that computes an i-th (where i is an integer greater than or equal to one) ink distribution amount distributed to an i-th recording job which is performed by a recording apparatus according to an i-th ink distribution ratio obtained from division of an i-th total consumption amount cumulative total by an i-th recording consumption amount cumulative total.