Printing Apparatus Controller for Selective Cancellation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses allow external interference, enabling others to cancel printing operations in progress, which can lead to unintended interruptions of internal data printing.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus equipped with a communication interface, a touch panel, a memory, and a controller that differentiates between print instructions received from external devices and those received via the touch panel, allowing for selective cancellation of printing operations based on the origin of the print instruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the printing apparatus allows cancel instruction from any source, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of printing operation is worsened due to unintended cancellations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the cancellation permission based on the source of the print instruction. When a print instruction is received from an external device (network, USB, etc.), the touch panel is set to unresponsive state, preventing cancellation from that local source. When the print instruction is from the touch panel itself, cancellation is allowed. This selective permission approach resolves the contradiction by maintaining operation ease for legitimate users while preventing unauthorized cancellations.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary between the touch panel and the printing operation. It receives cancel instructions from the touch panel but mediates whether to execute them based on the origin of the print instruction. This intermediary function allows the system to maintain both ease of operation (touch panel responds to cancel) and reliability (prevents external interference) by adding a layer of intelligent decision-making.
2Reliability
If the touch panel is made unresponsive during printing, then the reliability of printing is improved, but the ease of operation is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the touch panel completely unresponsive, the patent applies local quality by making it selectively unresponsive. The touch panel is unresponsive to cancel instructions when the print instruction originated from external devices, but remains responsive when the print instruction originated from the touch panel itself. This selective responsiveness resolves the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch panel's responsiveness is made dynamic rather than static. The controller dynamically adjusts the touch panel's response state based on the origin of the print instruction. When external device prints are detected, the touch panel enters an unresponsive state for cancellation. When local prints are detected, the touch panel maintains responsiveness. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to adapt its operational characteristics to the current printing context.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a communication interface, a touch panel, a memory, and a controller. The controller is configured to, when a print instruction has been received via not the communication interface from an external device but the touch panel, cancel printing of internal data stored in the memory in response to receiving a cancel instruction via the touch panel. The controller is further configured to, when the print instruction has been received via not the touch panel but the communication interface from the external device, continue the printing, without canceling the printing based on the cancel instruction.