Print Job Transfer to Service Printers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Target printers with limited job storage capabilities face challenges in managing and storing print jobs efficiently, as they often lack the necessary storage resources to handle incoming jobs, leading to potential job delays or failures.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a network-based solution that utilizes a manager engine to identify suitable service printers within a network, allowing for remote job storage by transferring jobs to service printers with available storage capacity, using discovery and transfer engines to broadcast requests, select appropriate printers, and manage job retrieval information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If target printers use local storage for print jobs, then job storage is simple and direct, but storage capacity is limited and jobs may be lost when storage is full
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the storage resources of multiple printers into a shared network storage system. Instead of each printer maintaining separate local storage, the system combines available storage capacity across the network into a unified job storage pool, thereby increasing total storage capacity while distributing management responsibilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal network storage service that can be accessed by any target printer in the network. The storage system becomes multi-functional, serving as a shared resource for multiple printers rather than being dedicated to a single device, thus improving storage capacity utilization across the entire printing system.
2Device complexity
If target printers have minimal local storage, then device cost and complexity are reduced, but job storage reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a service printer as an intermediary between the target printer and the network storage system. The service printer receives print jobs from target printers with minimal storage, manages job queuing and storage coordination, and ensures reliable job preservation. This intermediary layer allows target printers to maintain simple structures while achieving reliable job storage through the service printer's coordination of network storage resources.
3Quantity of substance
If print jobs are stored remotely on service printers, then storage capacity is increased, but job transfer and retrieval complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the system automatically discovers available storage capacity on service printers, dynamically allocates storage resources, and manages job transfers without manual intervention. The service printers autonomously respond to storage requests from target printers, and the system automatically tracks and retrieves jobs as needed, reducing the perceived complexity for users while enabling remote storage.
4Productivity
If multiple printers share network storage resources, then storage utilization efficiency is improved, but system complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where storage capacity is not statically assigned but dynamically adjusted based on real-time availability and demand. Service printers can dynamically offer their storage capacity to the network pool, and target printers can dynamically access available storage resources. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to changing conditions and maximize storage utilization efficiency while distributing coordination complexity across multiple autonomous nodes.
Data Source
AI summary
An example print system is described as including a manager engine that identifies an attribute of a job, a discovery engine that identifies a service printer available to store the job, a transfer engine that causes the job to transfer from a first printer to a second printer, and a remote job engine that maintains job retrieval information associated with the job.