Cloud Print Job Cancellation State Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional cloud print services face issues with inconsistent actual and stored execution results for print job cancellations due to timing discrepancies between server and printing apparatus, leading to differences in history information between the two systems.

Innovation Solution

A mechanism where the server manages a print job's state as temporarily stopped upon cancellation request, allowing the printing apparatus to notify the server of the actual execution result based on the job's progress, ensuring consistent and accurate history updates in both systems.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If the server immediately cancels the print job upon receiving a cancellation request, then the server can respond quickly to user cancellation instructions, but the printing apparatus may have already completed the print processing, leading to inconsistent execution results between server and printing apparatus

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecancellation response speedVSAvoidexecution result consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The server transitions the print job state to a temporarily stopped state before actually cancelling it, allowing the printing apparatus to be notified of the cancellation intent before completion. This preliminary state change enables the system to handle the cancellation gracefully regardless of the current processing stage, ensuring consistent execution results while maintaining quick response capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the server waits for the printing apparatus to complete processing before cancelling, then execution result consistency can be maintained, but the cancellation response time increases and user convenience deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveexecution result consistencyVSAvoidcancellation response time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The server proactively transitions the job state to temporarily stopped upon receiving cancellation request, before the printing apparatus can complete processing. This preliminary action allows the server to initiate the cancellation process immediately while still maintaining the opportunity for the printing apparatus to report actual execution results, thus reducing cancellation response time without sacrificing consistency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The printing apparatus notifies the server of the actual execution result after completing print processing, even when cancellation was requested. This feedback mechanism ensures that the server receives accurate information about whether the print job was actually completed or truly cancelled, allowing the server to update history information correctly while maintaining quick cancellation response.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Device complexity

If the server uses a notification channel established during printer activation for cancellation instructions, then the cancellation mechanism can be simple to implement, but the system cannot accurately determine the actual execution result when the printing apparatus has already completed processing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecancellation mechanism complexityVSAvoidactual execution result information

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The printing apparatus sends feedback information to the server about the actual execution result of the print job after completing processing. This feedback mechanism ensures that the server receives accurate information about whether the print job was actually completed or truly cancelled, allowing the server to update history information correctly without adding complex notification channels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11556296B2Printing system including print service cancellation, printing apparatus, and control method

Publication Date: 2023.01.17 CANON KK

AI summary

A printing apparatus determines, upon receiving information from a server that printing of a print job acquired from the server should be cancelled after the start of print processing of the print job, whether the cancellation should be accepted. If it is determined the cancellation should be accepted, execution of the print processing is cancelled and terminated and the server is notified, and if it is determined the cancellation should not be accepted, the server is notified of an execution result indicating that output of the print job has been completed. The printing apparatus further notifies the server of the execution result indicating that output of the print job has been completed when the printing of the print job has been successfully completed before cancellation and termination of the execution of the print processing, even in a case where it is determined that the cancellation should be accepted.