Portable Terminal Error Notification for Image Forming Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming systems fail to effectively notify users of error handling states, leading to situations where recovery operations may not be initiated, or multiple users may conflict in their efforts, due to lack of clear communication about error states and recovery actions.
Innovation Solution
An image forming system that includes an image forming apparatus and portable terminals, where the apparatus detects errors and transmits notifications to the terminals, and upon user-initiated recovery operations, displays specific screens to manage and coordinate the recovery process, ensuring clear communication and coordinated action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If error occurrence notification is transmitted to portable terminals, then users are informed of error states, but users cannot know the handling state of the notified error
Solution Approach 1:
The system transmits feedback notifications from the image forming apparatus to portable terminals, informing users of the error handling state (e.g., when recovery operation is being executed or when error is eliminated). This closes the information loop, allowing users to know the current status of error handling without requiring them to return to the apparatus.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable terminal acts as an intermediary device between the user and the image forming apparatus. It receives error occurrence notifications and handling state notifications from the apparatus, processes this information through user interface screens, and facilitates user interaction for error recovery operations.
2Reliability
If recovery operation start notification is transmitted to all portable terminals, then all users are informed of recovery status, but multiple users may start recovery operations simultaneously causing conflicts
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback to all portable terminals about the error handling state, including when recovery operation is in progress. This allows all users to see the current status and understand why they cannot initiate another recovery operation, preventing conflicts while maintaining system transparency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system checks whether a recovery operation is already being executed before allowing a new recovery operation to start. This preliminary check prevents multiple simultaneous recovery operations from being initiated, avoiding potential conflicts while still allowing users to monitor the system status.
3Reliability
If error notification is sent to portable terminal, then user is notified of error, but user may overlook the notification or request and recovery operation is not performed
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously provides feedback to the user through the portable terminal about the error state and handling status. This includes notifying when the error has been eliminated, ensuring the user is informed of the current state without requiring them to continuously check the apparatus.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable terminal provides self-service functionality by automatically receiving notifications from the image forming apparatus, displaying them through user interface screens, and managing the error recovery process information without requiring the user to actively monitor the apparatus or manually check status.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming system including an image forming apparatus and portable terminals is provided. The image forming apparatus comprises a unit that detects an error as a cause of an interrupt of image formation and transmits an error occurrence notification to each terminal, and a unit that, upon receiving a recovery operation start notification from a terminal and determining that a recovery operation for the error is started, transmits the recovery operation start notification to each terminal. Each terminal comprises a user interface that, upon receiving the error occurrence notification, displays an error notification screen, transmits the recovery operation start notification to the image forming apparatus in accordance with an operation by a user, and upon receiving the recovery operation start notification from the image forming apparatus, displays a recovery operation start screen on the user interface unit.