Generic method for scheduling print engines using print engine capabilities
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsMarkus P. J. Fromherz, Sue Layer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system is provided for generically scheduling operations necessary to produce desired documents on a print engine. Such print engine scheduling employs identifying, sequencing, and initiating print engine operations that will produce a desired document. The system employs a specified description of print engines that enable a scheduler to look up what operations are necessary to produce portions of a document, to find allowable times for those operations, and to send control commands to various print engine components to perform the operations. The system is independent of any particular print engine configuration Thus, it is reusable for a wide range of configurations.
Claims12
A system for generically scheduling machine operation of a machine having a generic scheduler and machine-specific information wherein the generic scheduler operates independent of the machine-specific information, the system comprising:
- receiving means for receiving generic description data representative of capabilities of a plurality of machine modules, wherein each machine module which supplies generic description data, is modeled in accordance with its machine-specific information independent of machine-specific information of any other machine module;
- identification means for identifying a set of capabilities necessary to produce a specified article by selective utilization of the machine modules;
- sequence means for sequencing machine operations of a set of capabilities identified by the identification means, including solving for constraints existing in the selected machine modules so as to produce the specified article;
- and
- initiation means for initiating a sequence of machine operations determined by the sequence means so as to produce the specified article.
A system for generically scheduling printing machine operation of a printing machine having a generic scheduler and machine-specific information wherein the generic scheduler operates independent of the machine-specific information, the system comprising:
- receiving means for receiving generic description data representative of combined capabilities of a plurality of printing machine modules, wherein each printing machine module which supplies generic description data being modeled in accordance with its machine-specific information independent of machine-specific information of any other printing machine module;
- identification means for identifying a subset of the combined capabilities necessary to produce a desired document by selective utilization of the printing machine modules;
- sequence means for sequencing printing machine operations of a set of capabilities identified by the identification means, including solving for constraints existing in the selected combined printing machine modules so as to produce the desired document;
- and
- initiation means for initiating a sequence of machine operations determined by the sequence means so as to produce the desired document.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.