Predicting Supply Material Depletion in Printing Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current print systems fail to accurately predict when a supply material container will become empty, making it difficult for operators to manage supply levels and prevent waste, especially during scheduled print jobs and maintenance actions.
Innovation Solution
A method that schedules print jobs and maintenance actions in time, calculates the consumption of supply material for each container, and determines when the supply level will reach zero, allowing for timely replenishment and minimizing waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If maintenance actions are scheduled in time, then printing operations can be maintained, but supply material is wasted during maintenance actions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of supply material consumption for both print jobs and maintenance actions before execution. By estimating the consumption for scheduled maintenance actions in advance and comparing it with current supply levels, the system can predict when supply will be depleted and schedule maintenance at optimal times that minimize waste while ensuring printing continuity.
2Measurement precision
If supply material level is monitored continuously, then empty container can be detected, but operator cannot predict exact timing of depletion
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes feedback loops that continuously monitor supply material levels and compare actual consumption against predicted consumption for scheduled print jobs and maintenance actions. This feedback mechanism allows the system to update predictions dynamically and provide accurate forecasts of when supply containers will be empty, enabling timely replenishment decisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary estimation of supply consumption for all scheduled operations (print jobs and maintenance actions) before they execute. By calculating expected consumption in advance and comparing with current levels, the system can predict depletion timing accurately rather than merely detecting when supply is already low.
3Measurement precision
If consumption is calculated for each print job, then accurate tracking is achieved, but complexity of calculation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments consumption calculation into distinct components: consumption for print jobs and consumption for maintenance actions. Each component is calculated separately using appropriate parameters (job-specific parameters for printing, maintenance-specific parameters for upkeep), then the results are combined to determine total predicted consumption. This segmentation simplifies the overall calculation while maintaining precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for predicting consumption of supply material for a plurality of print jobs in a printing system, each print job intended to consume supply material from at least one supply material container from a plurality of supply material containers in the printing system, the method comprising the steps of scheduling the plurality of print jobs in time, scheduling maintenance actions in time, for each supply material container establishing a supply material level in the supply material container before printing the plurality of print jobs, for each supply material container calculating a job consumption of supply material from the supply material container for each scheduled print job, for each supply material container calculating a maintenance consumption of supply material from the supply material container for each scheduled maintenance action, and for each supply material container calculating at which print job the supply material level of the supply material container reaches a zero supply material level in the supply material container taking into account the calculated job consumption of the supply material in the supply material container and taking into account the calculated maintenance consumption of the supply material in the supply material container. The invention also relates to a print system suitable for applying the method.