Print Job Resumption via Threshold Detection and State Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional prepaid printing systems inconvenience users by requiring them to restart and resubmit print jobs when the allowed printing amount reaches zero, leading to potential duplication or omission of pages if the unprocessed part of the job is not retained for resumption.
Innovation Solution
A printing device and print management system that detect when the allowed printing amount reaches a threshold, allowing the system to interrupt the print job while retaining the unprocessed part if certain conditions are met, enabling resumption upon increased printing privileges being purchased.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the print job is cancelled when the allowed printing amount reaches zero, then the printing system can enforce the prepaid fee constraint, but the user must resubmit the print job manually which reduces convenience
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting when the allowed printing amount reaches the threshold value before complete exhaustion, and proactively interrupts the print job while retaining the unprocessed portion. This preliminary intervention prevents the need for user resubmission and maintains convenience while still enforcing the prepaid constraint through automated privilege replenishment
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by automatically detecting the threshold condition, interrupting the print job, and replenishing the printing privilege without requiring user intervention. The unprocessed print job is automatically retained and resumed after privilege replenishment, making the system self-correcting and eliminating manual resubmission steps
2Ease of operation
If the unprocessed part of the print job is retained for resumption, then user convenience is improved, but the system complexity increases due to job state management
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the print job data from the processing pipeline and stores it in a retention state when the threshold is reached. By separating the job data from the active printing process and preserving it independently, the system enables simple resumption without complex state management, as the extracted job data can be directly re-fed into the printing process
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary retention of the unprocessed print job data before the allowed printing amount is completely exhausted. This preliminary preservation of job state eliminates the need for complex recovery mechanisms later, as the data is already prepared and stored in a resumable state, reducing overall system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A printing device includes a print engine and a controller. The print engine is configured to perform printing until an allowed printing amount reaches a first threshold value. The allowed printing amount is decreased from an initial value as printing proceeds, while increased in accordance with a particular guaranteed printing amount guaranteed by a printing privilege given to a user. The controller is configured to obtain a print job, detect that the allowed printing amount reaches the first threshold value, interrupt the print job when the allowed printing amount reaches the first threshold value, and determine whether a particular condition is satisfied when the allowed printing amount reaches the first threshold value. When the particular condition is not satisfied, the controller deactivates an unprocessed part of the print job. When the particular condition is satisfied, the unprocessed part of the print job is retained so as to be resumed.