Peripheral Reservation Control Preventing Full System Lockout
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital multifunction peripherals' exclusive reservation services do not adequately cater to users who irregularly print small amounts of jobs, as they often cannot use peripherals during reserved periods due to all-peripheral reservations, leading to inconvenience for general users.
Innovation Solution
A processing apparatus that communicates with external devices to detect unreserved peripherals and issues instructions not to accept priority reservations for those not reserved, ensuring at least one peripheral remains available for general use, thereby preventing all-peripheral exclusive reservations during specific times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all digital multifunction peripherals accept exclusive reservations during a particular time period, then priority use is secured for reserving users, but general users cannot use any peripheral during that period
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the plurality of digital multifunction peripherals into reserved and unreserved groups, ensuring that not all peripherals are exclusively reserved during a particular time period. This segmentation allows general users to access at least one peripheral while priority users can reserve others.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the reservation status parameter of peripherals dynamically. By controlling whether peripherals accept exclusive reservations or not based on predetermined conditions, the system adjusts accessibility parameters to balance priority user needs with general user availability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a user sets exclusive reservation for all digital multifunction peripherals, then exclusive use is secured for that user, but other general users have no peripheral to use
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by preventing a user from reserving all peripherals exclusively. The controlling unit detects when a reservation request would result in all peripherals being reserved and issues an instruction to reject such reservation, thereby counteracting the potential harm to system-wide availability before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where the controlling unit monitors reservation requests and the current state of peripheral reservations. When detecting that a reservation would eliminate all available peripherals for general use, the system provides feedback by rejecting the reservation request and notifying the user.
3Device complexity
If peripherals operate independently for exclusive reservations, then each peripheral manages its own reservations, but coordination between peripherals is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the independent reservation management of individual peripherals with centralized controlling unit coordination. The controlling unit receives reservation requests from peripherals, processes them according to system-wide rules, and issues instructions back to peripherals, thereby combining independent operation with coordinated decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The controlling unit acts as an intermediary between individual peripherals and the reservation management system. It receives reservation information from peripherals, applies coordination rules, and issues instructions to peripherals, thereby mediating between independent peripheral operation and system-wide reservation coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
A processing apparatus which is capable of preventing an priority reservation for a particular period from being set for all of a plurality of apparatuses and improving convenience for a general user who does not use an priority reservation service, in a system for which the priority reservation is available. Reservation information about a reservation for priority use of peripherals (MFP-A, B, and C) is stored. The number of peripherals that are not reserved for priority use during a particular period in the peripherals with reference to the reservation information is detected. When the number of peripherals is one, an instruction not to accept a reservation for priority use during the particular period to the single peripheral that are not reserved for priority use during the particular period in the peripheral is issued.