Remote Device Wake-Up via Client GUI Icon
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices require significant time and resources to transition out of energy-saving mode, leading to delays in performing tasks such as printing, as users must physically interact with the device or send electronic requests, which can be inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A system allowing remote identification and control of a device's state, enabling users to view the device's status and instruct it to exit energy-saving mode through a graphical user interface, using a client module to communicate with the device via a communications link, thereby reducing the need for physical interaction and minimizing downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a device enters energy-saving mode to reduce power consumption, then energy efficiency is improved, but the device requires significant time and resources to wake up, leading to delays in performing tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by sending a wake-up request electronically before the user needs to use the device. This allows the device to begin its wake-up process in advance, performing necessary tasks such as warming the oil and readjusting color ink before the user actually needs to print, thereby reducing the effective wait time while maintaining energy-saving benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary communication system (electronic messaging system) is introduced between the user and the device. Instead of direct physical interaction or waiting for the device to be ready, the user sends an electronic request that mediates the wake-up process, allowing remote initiation of device activation and reducing the need for physical presence during the wake-up transition.
2Ease of operation
If a user physically interacts with the device to wake it up, then the device can exit energy-saving mode, but the user must be physically present at the device location, reducing convenience
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical system of physical button pressing is replaced with an electronic communication system. The wake-up function is achieved through electronic messages transmitted over a communication network, substituting the mechanical interaction (physically pressing a button) with an electronic equivalent, thereby improving convenience while the complexity is managed through standardized communication protocols.
3Productivity
If a device remains in ready mode to avoid wake-up delays, then task performance is immediate, but energy consumption increases continuously
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous operation, the system uses periodic action by entering energy-saving mode during idle periods and activating only when needed. The electronic wake-up request system enables this periodic pattern by allowing rapid reactivation when tasks are needed, thus maintaining high productivity when required while achieving significant energy savings during idle periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for communicating with a device is provided. A user views a graphical user interface displayed on a client. For example, the graphical user interface may correspond to a web page or a graphical user interface of an operating system. The graphical user interface may display an icon. The display of the icon may indicate, to the user, whether a device, associated with the icon, is in an energy-saving mode. The user may configure the icon to cause the client to issue requests to the device. A request, sent from the client to the device, may instruct the device to exit the energy-saving mode. In this way, the user may instruct a device to exit the energy-saving mode (i.e., to “wake-up”) prior to issuing a request for the performance of a service (such as a request to print an electronic document) to the device.