Printer Storage Body Management Program for Consumable Replenishment Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current printer management systems struggle to order print-receiving media at the optimal time, leading to either premature deterioration or late replenishment, resulting in inefficiencies and potential quality issues.
Innovation Solution
A storage body management program that includes a remaining amount detecting device, identification, registration, totalization, calculation, prediction, and ordering processes to determine the appropriate timing for replenishing print-receiving media based on consumption patterns and expected delivery periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If ordering is based on simple remaining amount threshold, then ordering process is simple, but ordering timing is inaccurate leading to premature deterioration or late replenishment
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting remaining amounts continuously, identifying storage bodies in advance, and calculating predicted consumption completion timings before actual consumption occurs. This allows ordering to be placed at the optimal time rather than reacting to current stock levels alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where remaining amount detection results are fed back to update consumption patterns, recalculate predicted completion timings, and adjust future ordering decisions. This continuous feedback mechanism improves ordering timing accuracy while managing system complexity through automated iterative optimization.
2Reliability
If order is placed early to ensure availability, then replenishment reliability is improved, but storage body quality deteriorates due to long elapse before use
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameter of ordering timing from static threshold-based decisions to dynamic predicted completion timing based on actual consumption patterns. By calculating when storage bodies will actually be consumed and ordering accordingly, the system ensures replenishment reliability while minimizing the elapsed time before use, thus preserving medium quality.
3Loss of substance
If order is placed late to avoid quality deterioration, then storage body quality is maintained, but printer operation is disrupted due to insufficient stock
Solution Approach 1:
The system takes preliminary action by predicting consumption completion timings and generating order instructions before stock runs out. This ensures that ordering occurs late enough to maintain quality but early enough to ensure continuous printer operation, resolving the contradiction between quality maintenance and operational continuity.
4Measurement precision
If multiple storage bodies are tracked individually, then consumption accuracy is improved, but management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the tracking of multiple storage bodies by detecting remaining amounts of all storage bodies, identifying them collectively, and calculating aggregate predicted consumption completion timings. This combining approach maintains consumption measurement accuracy while reducing management complexity through unified processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a storage body management program for executing steps is provided. In a registration step, a total number of owned storage bodies including the storage body attached to an attaching part is acquired and registered. In a totalization step, consumption amounts of the storage bodies in the printer are totalized based on an identification result and a detection result. In a calculation step, an average consumption amount per unit period of the storage bodies are calculated based on a totalization result. In a prediction step, a consumption completion timing of the storage bodies is predicted based on a registration result and a calculation result. In an order step, an order process for at least one type of the storage bodies is executed in accordance with a prediction result and an expected delivery period of the storage bodies.