Printing Apparatus Wireless Switching for Insufficient Power Supply
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing apparatuses that rely on power supplied from a terminal device via a wired interface face challenges when the power supply capacity is insufficient, leading to disconnected communication and a burden on users to re-establish connections.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus equipped with a determination unit to assess the power supply capacity, a connection control unit to switch to wireless communication if power is insufficient, and a notification control unit to prompt improving the power supply capacity, allowing seamless switching to a terminal device with higher power supply capacity without disrupting communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the printing apparatus switches to a terminal device with higher power supply capacity, then the power supply capacity is improved, but the communication connection with the original terminal device is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication function into two independent pathways: wired interface for power supply and wireless interface for communication. This allows the printing apparatus to switch power sources via wired connection while maintaining continuous communication through the wireless interface, resolving the contradiction between improving power supply capacity and maintaining communication reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless interface acts as an intermediary that maintains the communication connection between the terminal device and printing apparatus independent of the wired power connection. When switching to a terminal device with higher power capacity, the wireless interface ensures communication continuity without disruption.
2Power
If the printing apparatus switches connection after wired communication, then the power supply capacity is improved, but the user must perform reconnection operation
Solution Approach 1:
The printing apparatus preliminarily establishes a wireless connection before switching to a terminal device with higher power capacity. This preliminary action ensures that when the power switch occurs, the communication pathway is already in place, eliminating the need for users to perform reconnection operations and reducing operational burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs the connection maintenance automatically through the wireless interface without requiring user intervention. The printing apparatus self-manages the communication connection during power source switching, eliminating the need for users to manually reconnect and reducing operational complexity.
3Reliability
If the printing apparatus maintains both wired and wireless connections, then the communication reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The printing apparatus is designed with multi-functionality where the wireless interface serves dual purposes: maintaining communication connections and enabling operations independent of wired power connections. This universal design improves communication reliability through multiple pathways while the integrated nature of the interfaces prevents excessive complexity increase.
Data Source
AI summary
In a printing apparatus capable of communicating via a wired interface and a wireless interface with a terminal device that can transmit a job for execution of an operation and capable of operating by power supplied by the terminal device connected via the wired interface, a determination unit determines whether or not the operation based on the job can be executed, based on a power supply capacity of the terminal device connected via the wired interface, and in a case where the determination unit determines that the operation based on the job cannot be executed, a connection control unit connects to the terminal device via the wireless interface for communication, and a notification control unit provides a notification that prompts improving the power supply capacity for the printing apparatus.