Printer Notification Unit Distinguishes Sheet Holding Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
In printing systems, when attribute information about a sheet for a print job is not registered to any sheet holding unit, the execution of the print job is halted, leading to potential unintentional changes in sheet attribute information for other jobs, causing them to stop as well.
Innovation Solution
A control apparatus that includes a job holding unit, a selecting unit, a receiving unit, a performing unit, a displaying unit, and a notification unit to manage and display sheet holding units, preventing attribute information mix-ups by notifying users of unused and used sheet holding units and allowing controlled selection to prevent job interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If attribute information about a sheet for a print job is not registered to any sheet holding unit, then the execution of the print job is halted, but this leads to potential unintentional changes in sheet attribute information for other jobs, causing them to stop as well
Solution Approach 1:
The notification is segmented to display used sheet holding units and unused sheet holding units separately and distinctly. This segmentation helps users quickly identify which sheet holding unit to modify without confusion, preventing unintentional changes to other jobs while maintaining clear operational guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The notification unit acts as an intermediary between the system state and the user. It provides intermediate information about which sheet holding units are used and which are unused, enabling users to make informed decisions without directly interacting with complex system settings, thus preventing accidental job stoppages.
2Loss of information
If the operation screen displays a list of print job status information, then users can know about sheet attribute mismatches, but the complexity of the display increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly displaying all sheet holding unit information, the notification applies local quality by distinctly notifying only about used sheet holding units and unused sheet holding units. This selective notification maintains information completeness while reducing display complexity by focusing on relevant distinctions.
Solution Approach 2:
The notification uses distinguishable visual characteristics (analogous to color changes in TRIZ) to differentiate between used and unused sheet holding units. This visual differentiation allows users to quickly grasp essential information without processing complex textual details, reducing perceived display complexity while maintaining information completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a job holding unit, a selecting unit, a performing unit, a displaying unit, and a notification unit. The job holding unit holds jobs that print an image on a sheet conveyed from at least one of sheet holding units. The selecting unit selects a job from the job holding unit. The receiving unit receives, from a user, an instruction to execute the selected job. The performing unit performs the job per the instruction. The displaying unit displays a screen for selecting at least one of the sheet holding units for which attribute information of a sheet, to be used in a selected first job, is to be stored. The notification unit notifies, on the screen in a distinguishable manner, a user of at least one of the sheet holding units which is and another which is not used in printing of a second job.