Print Service Plan Switching for Consumable Supply Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing print services do not dynamically adjust consumable supply plans based on actual or predicted printing needs, leading to potential shortages or excesses, which can result in inefficient resource allocation and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A print service system that allows for automatic plan changes between different upper limit sheet counts based on current and predicted printing volumes, enabling dynamic adjustment of consumable provision through a cloud-based server and user notification processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed print service plan is provided with a predetermined upper limit number of sheets, then the basic fee can be determined in advance and billing is simplified, but the plan cannot adapt to changes in printing volume leading to either shortages or excesses of consumables
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic plan adjustment by automatically changing the upper limit number of sheets based on actual printing volume data. The system transitions from a static fixed plan to a dynamic adaptive plan that automatically increases or decreases the upper limit according to measured printing usage, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity through automated dynamic adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors actual printing volume and uses this feedback to automatically adjust the plan parameters. The feedback loop collects printing data, analyzes usage patterns, and triggers plan changes when thresholds are exceeded, enabling the system to adapt to printing volume changes while maintaining automated management that prevents complexity from overwhelming the user.
2Reliability
If the upper limit number of sheets is increased to accommodate higher printing volumes, then consumable shortages are prevented, but the basic fee increases proportionally even when printing volume does not actually increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the upper limit number of sheets based on actual printing volume rather than using a fixed high limit. When printing volume increases, the upper limit and corresponding basic fee increase accordingly. When printing volume returns to normal levels, the upper limit and fee decrease back to original levels, ensuring consumable supply reliability only when actually needed and avoiding unnecessary cost increases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of upper limit number of sheets from a static value to a dynamically adjustable value based on printing volume metrics. This parameter change enables the system to optimize the balance between consumable supply reliability and cost by adjusting the upper limit to match actual usage patterns rather than maintaining a consistently high limit.
3Quantity of substance
If the upper limit number of sheets is decreased to reduce basic fee, then consumable costs are reduced, but printing operations may be interrupted due to consumable shortages
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the upper limit number of sheets upward when printing volume indicates approaching consumable depletion thresholds. This dynamic adjustment prevents printing interruptions by increasing the upper limit (and thus consumable supply) only when necessary, maintaining productivity during high-volume periods while keeping costs low during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of printing volume trends and proactively adjusts the upper limit number of sheets before consumable shortages occur. By detecting increasing printing patterns early, the system preemptively increases the upper limit to prevent interruptions, maintaining productivity while avoiding unnecessary cost increases during stable low-volume periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A set of program instructions, when executed by the controller, causes the electronic device to perform, in a case where a number of printed sheets in a printer in a current unit period satisfies a particular condition, notifying about a change of a plan of a print service from a first plan to a second plan. The particular condition is a condition of a number of sheets relating to the first plan corresponding to the current unit period. The print service is that, by paying a basic fee of the plan, in a case where the number of printed sheets at an end of a unit period does not exceed the upper limit number, a consumable to be used in the printer in the unit period is provided. The upper limit number of the second plan is larger than the upper limit number of the first plan.