# US 10,310,791 B2 · Method of scheduling print jobs > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,310,791 B2 - Document ID: US10310791B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/021,915 - Filed: 2018-06-28 - Published: 2019-01-10 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2017-07-06 - Assignees: Océ Holding B.V. - Applicants: Océ Holding B.V. - Inventors: Kaushal R. Butala; Reinier J. Dankers - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10310791B2 ## CPC - G06F 3/1263: {based on job priority, e.g. re-arranging the order of jobs, e.g. the printing sequence} - B41J 2/165: Prevention {or detection} of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles - B41J 2/16526: {by applying pressure only} - B41J 2/2117: {Ejecting white liquids} - G06F 3/121: {Facilitating exception or error detection and recovery, e.g. fault, media or consumables depleted} - G06F 3/1211: {Improving printing performance} - G06F 3/1229: {Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels} - G06F 3/126: {Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device} - G06F 3/1296: {Printer job scheduling or printer resource handling} - B41J 2002/16573: {Cleaning process logic, e.g. for determining type or order of cleaning processes} - G06F 3/1219: {with regard to consumables, e.g. ink, toner, paper} - G06F 2206/1514: Sub-job - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS ## Abstract A method of scheduling print jobs for printing on a printer which has printing elements provided for printing in a number of different colors, characterized by the steps of: a) calculating, for each color, a constraint time which specifies a time at which the printing elements for the respective color should be either operated or subjected to a maintenance treatment in order to avoid a risk of malfunction; b) calculating, for each of a plurality of print jobs that have been scheduled already and are waiting in a print queue, an operation time at which the printing elements will be operating in the course of the processing of the print job; and c) when a new print job is to be scheduled and the print jobs, including the new print job, comprise at least one job in which printing elements for at least one color are not operated, determining a sequence of the print jobs in the print queue, with corresponding recalculation of the constraint times and operation times, with an aim to extend the constraint times by operating the printing elements before expiry of their previously calculated constraint times. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of scheduling print jobs for printing in a scheduled order on a printer which has printing elements provided for printing in a number of different colors, the method comprising the steps of: a) calculating, for each color, a constraint time which specifies a time at which the printing elements for the respective color should be either operated or subjected to a maintenance treatment in order to avoid a risk of malfunction, due to causes such as ink drying out in the printing element; b) calculating, for each of a plurality of print jobs that have been scheduled already and are waiting in a print queue, an operation time at which the printing elements will be operating in the course of the processing of the print job; and c) when a new print job is to be scheduled and the print jobs, including the new print job, comprise at least one job in which printing elements for at least one color are not operated, determining a sequence of the print jobs in the print queue, with corresponding calculation of the new constraint times and new operation times, with an aim to extend the constraint times by operating the printing elements before expiry of their previously calculated constraint times by shifting the constraint times to the future due to the usage of the corresponding colors. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the step c) comprises a sub step of: c1) when a start time of the new print job is later than the latest constraint time, searching the print queue for a pair of consecutive print jobs whose operation times are such that the smallest constraint time amongst all colors fits in between the operation times, and inserting the new print job between the jobs of this pair. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein the step c) comprises the further steps of: c2) checking, for all jobs in the print queue that follow behind the new print job that has been inserted, whether there is a color which is used in the job and for which the constraint time expires earlier than the start time of the job; and c3) when a job is found for which the result in step c2) is “yes,” scheduling a maintenance treatment before that job. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method according to claim 3, wherein the step c) comprises the following sub-steps: c_a) preliminarily appending the new print job at the end of the print queue; c_b) if the new print job does not utilize a certain color and the preceding job in the queue uses that certain color, and if the preceding job fulfills a swap criterion requiring that the job length of the new print job fits in the interval between the start time of the preceding job and the constraint time for the given color, then swap the positions of the new print job and the preceding job. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) A printing system comprising a job scheduler configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 3. ### Claim 6 (depends on 3) A computer program product comprising program code on a machine-readable non-transitory medium, the program code, when run on a scheduler of a printing system, is configured to instruct the scheduler to perform the steps of the method according to claim 3. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) The method according to claim 2, wherein the step c) comprises the following sub-steps: c_a) preliminarily appending the new print job at the end of the print queue; c_b) if the new print job does not utilize a certain color and the preceding job in the queue uses that certain color, and if the preceding job fulfills a swap criterion requiring that the job length of the new print job fits in the interval between the start time of the preceding job and the constraint time for the given color, then swap the positions of the new print job and the preceding job. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A printing system comprising a job scheduler configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 7. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A printing system comprising a job scheduler configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 1. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) A printing system comprising a job scheduler configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 2. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) A computer program product comprising program code on a machine-readable non-transitory medium, the program code, when run on a scheduler of a printing system, is configured to instruct the scheduler to perform the steps of the method according to claim 2. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the step c) comprises the following sub-steps: c_a) preliminarily appending the new print job at the end of the print queue; c_b) if the new print job does not utilize a certain color and the preceding job in the queue uses that certain color, and if the preceding job fulfills a swap criterion requiring that the job length of the new print job fits in the interval between the start time of the preceding job and the constraint time for the given color, then swap the positions of the new print job and the preceding job. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A printing system comprising a job scheduler configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 12. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The method according to claim 12, wherein the step c) comprises a further step of reiterating the step c_b) if the job in the print queue which precedes the new print job after swapping also fulfills the swap criterion. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) A printing system comprising a job scheduler configured to perform the steps of the method according to claim 14. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) A computer program product comprising program code on a machine-readable non-transitory medium, the program code, when run on a scheduler of a printing system, is configured to instruct the scheduler to perform the steps of the method according to claim 14. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) A computer program product comprising program code on a machine-readable non-transitory medium, the program code, when run on a scheduler of a printing system, is configured to instruct the scheduler to perform the steps of the method according to claim 12. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) A computer program product comprising program code on a machine-readable non-transitory medium, the program code, when run on a scheduler of a printing system, is configured to instruct the scheduler to perform the steps of the method according to claim 1. ### Claim 19 (depends on 7) A computer program product comprising program code on a machine-readable non-transitory medium, the program code, when run on a scheduler of a printing system, is configured to instruct the scheduler to perform the steps of the method according to claim 7.