Virtual Environment for Image Processing Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses face challenges in reducing power consumption while maintaining desired output quality, as adding functions increases power usage and can result in aborted print processes when power is reduced, leading to differences in output results due to variations in print engine properties.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a virtual technique that allows image forming processes to continue without delay by utilizing a virtual environment on both the main and sub boards of the image forming apparatus, enabling power optimization and maintaining output quality by performing image processing on either the sub board or a virtual environment on the main board, depending on availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If power consumption is reduced by turning off the entire image forming apparatus, then energy saving is improved, but print processing is aborted and reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the image forming apparatus into separate functional modules: a print engine module and a control module. The print engine can be independently powered down while the control module remains active to receive and queue print jobs. This segmentation allows the system to reduce power consumption by turning off the high-power print engine while maintaining system availability through the active control module, thus resolving the contradiction between energy saving and print processing continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control module performs preliminary actions by receiving, storing, and preprocessing print jobs before the print engine is activated. When the print engine is powered off, the control module maintains a queue of print jobs and prepares them in advance. Upon power restoration, the print engine can resume processing without aborting the print workflow, ensuring reliability while enabling power savings during idle periods.
2Productivity
If additional functions are added to increase performance, then processing capability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic power management where the print engine's power state is adjusted based on workload demands. The system can dynamically switch between active and powered-off states for the print engine while maintaining control functionality. This dynamic approach allows the system to have high processing capability when needed while minimizing power consumption during low-activity periods, resolving the contradiction between productivity and energy use.
3Use of energy by moving object
If print engine is powered off to save power, then energy consumption is reduced, but output quality consistency deteriorates due to property differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a virtual print engine in the control module that creates a digital copy or model of the physical print engine's behavior and characteristics. This virtual representation stores property data (such as density, color profiles, and resolution characteristics) that allows the control module to pre-process and optimize print jobs according to the print engine's properties before the engine is powered on. This ensures output quality consistency is maintained even when the print engine is powered off for extended periods, as the virtual model preserves the engine's operational characteristics.
Data Source
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AI summary
An image forming apparatus (100) detects whether a sub board (220), which performs image processing, is in a processing-disabled state. If it is detected that the sub board is in the processing-disabled state, the image forming appartus activates a virtual environment (409) on a main board (200), which performs information processing, to allow an image processing unit configured to perform the image processing to run on the virtual environment. The image forming apparatus transfers data processed by the image processing unit to the sub board when the sub board comes into a processing-enabled state and then prints and outputs the data via a print engine (227).