Liquid Ejecting Device Billing Accuracy via Consumption Range Invalidation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejecting devices, such as inkjet printers, face issues with charge management errors leading to unexpected changes in the liquid consumption rates, resulting in incorrect billing for users, causing financial disadvantages.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejecting device with a control unit that stores multiple ranges of liquid consumption amounts and printed sheets, performing invalidation processing on stored data when consumption ranges change within a predetermined period to prevent incorrect billing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If charge management information is stored and used for billing, then billing automation is improved, but accuracy of billing deteriorates due to errors and unexpected changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary validation by checking whether charge management information matches contract details before using it for billing. This preventive check ensures that only accurate, contract-compliant information is used for charging, preventing billing errors before they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism that continuously monitors charge management information against contract details. When discrepancies are detected, the system provides feedback to correct the information, ensuring billing accuracy is maintained through continuous verification and correction.
2Ease of operation
If charge management information is made accessible for updates, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to accidental changes and errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by implementing validation checks that prevent incorrect updates. Before accepting any update to charge management information, the system verifies that the new information matches contract details, thereby counteracting potential errors and accidental changes before they can affect billing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary validation layer between the update operation and the charge management information. This intermediary checks whether updates conform to contract details, acting as a mediator that allows necessary updates while blocking erroneous ones, thus maintaining data integrity.
3Reliability
If charge management information is changed to correct errors, then billing accuracy is improved, but user disadvantage increases due to unexpected changes during the period
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary validation to ensure that corrections to charge management information are based on contract details rather than arbitrary changes. This preliminary check guarantees that accuracy improvements do not come at the cost of user disadvantage, as only contract-compliant corrections are applied.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting device includes a liquid ejecting head configured to eject a liquid to a medium to perform printing, and a control unit configured to control the liquid ejecting head and include a storage unit. The storage unit is configured to be able to store a plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount, and the number of printed sheets on which, in a predetermined period, printing is performed in each of the plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount. When the plurality of ranges of the liquid consumption amount are changed within the predetermined period, the control unit performs invalidation processing on the number of printed sheets stored in the storage unit.