Production server for automated control of production document management
First Claim
1. A printing workflow system disposed in a network environment for coordinating production of document processing jobs, said printing workflow system comprising:
- a plurality of autonomous cells, wherein each autonomous cell is comprised of a plurality of devices and resources with at least some devices and resources performing distinct operations from one another, and that are configured to be capable of entirely completing at least one type of document processing job within said autonomous cell such that there is no dependence upon other autonomous cells for completing a selected one type of document processing job;
a workflow mapping module that determines workflow for the selected one of said document processing jobs by identifying a sequence of operations needed to be performed to complete the selected document processing job;
a job decomposition module for splitting the selected document processing job into a plurality of autonomous sub-jobs that are accomplished by the autonomous cells, wherein splitting occurs based on determined differences between said sequence of operations of the selected document processing job and further splitting may occur on the autonomous sub-jobs containing the same sequence of operations to facilitate faster completion by using multiple devices;
a cell assignment module for assigning said autonomous sub-jobs to said given ones of the autonomous cells capable of entirely accomplishing said autonomous sub-jobs; and
a product cell controller at a selected one of the given autonomous cells for receiving at least one of said autonomous sub-jobs and for further splitting said at least one autonomous-sub job into lots for processing among said plurality of devices in said selected autonomous cell, wherein a selected device within the plurality of devices and resources uses a kanban based pull control policy to request work by sending authorization to the upstream product cell controllers to supply said device with authorized work.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A printing workflow system for coordinating production of document processing jobs among a plurality of cells, where a cell is comprised of at least one device for completing the document processing jobs. The present invention is directed toward further substances in the art as they relate to a print shop comprised of a network of cells to accomplish printing a document processing job. Each cell is comprised of at least one printing device for completing the document processing jobs. The print workflow is further comprised of a workflow mapping module that determines a workflow of one of the many document processing jobs for processing. A job description module for splitting the various document processing jobs into sub-jobs for processing by the printing devices in the cells. A print cell controller at any one of the cells for receiving at least one sub-job and for further split the sub-job into lots for processing among devices in the selected cell. The printing workflow system of the present inventions allows for the distribution of document processing jobs throughout a network environment.
-
Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A printing workflow system disposed in a network environment for coordinating production of document processing jobs, said printing workflow system comprising:
-
a plurality of autonomous cells, wherein each autonomous cell is comprised of a plurality of devices and resources with at least some devices and resources performing distinct operations from one another, and that are configured to be capable of entirely completing at least one type of document processing job within said autonomous cell such that there is no dependence upon other autonomous cells for completing a selected one type of document processing job; a workflow mapping module that determines workflow for the selected one of said document processing jobs by identifying a sequence of operations needed to be performed to complete the selected document processing job; a job decomposition module for splitting the selected document processing job into a plurality of autonomous sub-jobs that are accomplished by the autonomous cells, wherein splitting occurs based on determined differences between said sequence of operations of the selected document processing job and further splitting may occur on the autonomous sub-jobs containing the same sequence of operations to facilitate faster completion by using multiple devices; a cell assignment module for assigning said autonomous sub-jobs to said given ones of the autonomous cells capable of entirely accomplishing said autonomous sub-jobs; and a product cell controller at a selected one of the given autonomous cells for receiving at least one of said autonomous sub-jobs and for further splitting said at least one autonomous-sub job into lots for processing among said plurality of devices in said selected autonomous cell, wherein a selected device within the plurality of devices and resources uses a kanban based pull control policy to request work by sending authorization to the upstream product cell controllers to supply said device with authorized work. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method used in a print workflow system disposed in a network environment for coordinating production of document processing jobs, said method comprising:
-
partitioning document processing devices and resources into a plurality of autonomous cells capable of entirely completing at least one type of document processing job within said autonomous cell such that there is no dependence upon other cells for completing the document processing job; determining workflow for a selected one of said document processing jobs by identifying a sequence of operations necessary to complete said document processing job; splitting a selected document processing job into a plurality of autonomous sub-jobs that are able to be entirely accomplished by given ones of the autonomous cells, wherein splitting occurs based on a determined difference between the sequence of operations of the document processing jobs and further splitting selectively occurs on another document processing job containing an identical sequence of operations to facilitate faster completion by using multiple devices; assigning said document processing sub-jobs to said given ones of the autonomous cells capable of accomplishing a selected one of the autonomous sub-jobs; and receiving at a selected one of the given cells at least one of the autonomous sub-jobs and further splitting said one autonomous sub-job into lots for processing among devices and resources in said selected autonomous cell, wherein a device within the plurality of devices and resources use a kanban based pull control policy to request work by sending authorization to the upstream product cell controller to supply said device with authorized work;
including,a) splitting said autonomous sub-job into optimal lot sizes determined by analyzing said workflow of said selected document processing job, whereby said autonomous sub-job is split into smaller lots for optimal utilization of said cell devices; b) assigning a number of kanbans to said lots as workflow control elements; and c) sending authorization in the form of kanbans from cell devices to upstream devices calling for said upstream devices to supply said selected cell devices with a next lot and wherein said assigned kanbans are released as said lots are processed and said assigned kanbans become available for future authorization of future lots. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
-
Specification