Multi-device powersaving
First Claim
1. A control system for reducing energy consumption in an associated multi-device system comprising a plurality of devices, said energy control system comprising:
- at least one processor programmed to;
receive a job to be executed;
receive a selection of one of the plurality of devices for executing the job and a transfer cost for transferring the job from the selected device to each of the plurality of devices;
determine a device from the plurality of devices to execute the job through optimization of a first cost function, the first cost function based on the device selection and the received transfer costs;
assign the job to the determined device;
determine a time-out for each device in the multi-device system through optimization of a second cost function, the second cost function based on an expected energy consumption by the multi-device system; and
,provide the devices with the determined time-outs;
wherein at least one of the device and the time-outs are determined by modeling a control problem as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), the MDP including the first cost function and the second cost function, wherein at least one of;
a) the first cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression;
Vhσ
,z=minkRhk+(1−
σ
k){circumflex over (b)}kVσ
+(1−
σ
k)ek,z
(19)where k is one of the plurality of devices;
h is the selected one of the plurality of devices;
Rhk is the transfer cost for device k;
{circumflex over (b)}k is the cost of transitioning device k from a first mode to a second mode, the second mode consuming more power than the first mode;
a is a control state vector of the multi-device system, each k-th component indicating a state for device k, where a value of 0 corresponds to the first mode and 1 corresponds to the second mode;
z is a demand state of the multi-device system;
σ
,z is a state of the multi-device system;
ek is a vector of Os for each component except the k-th component, which is 1; and
V is the second cost function; and
b) the second cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression;
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Abstract
A control system reduces energy consumption in a multi-device system comprising a plurality of devices. The control system includes at least one processor. The processor is programmed to receive a job to be executed, as well as a selection of one of the plurality of devices for executing the job and a transfer cost for transferring the job from the selected device to each of the plurality of devices. A device to execute the job is determined through optimization of a first cost function. The first cost function is based on the device selection and the transfer costs. The job is assigned to the determined device and a time-out for each device in the multi-device system is determined through optimization of a second cost function. The second cost function is based on an expected energy consumption by the multi-device system. The devices are provided with the determined time-outs.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A control system for reducing energy consumption in an associated multi-device system comprising a plurality of devices, said energy control system comprising:
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at least one processor programmed to; receive a job to be executed; receive a selection of one of the plurality of devices for executing the job and a transfer cost for transferring the job from the selected device to each of the plurality of devices; determine a device from the plurality of devices to execute the job through optimization of a first cost function, the first cost function based on the device selection and the received transfer costs; assign the job to the determined device; determine a time-out for each device in the multi-device system through optimization of a second cost function, the second cost function based on an expected energy consumption by the multi-device system; and
,provide the devices with the determined time-outs; wherein at least one of the device and the time-outs are determined by modeling a control problem as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), the MDP including the first cost function and the second cost function, wherein at least one of; a) the first cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression;
Vhσ
,z=minkRhk+(1−
σ
k){circumflex over (b)}kVσ
+(1−
σ
k)ek,z
(19)where k is one of the plurality of devices;
h is the selected one of the plurality of devices;
Rhk is the transfer cost for device k;
{circumflex over (b)}k is the cost of transitioning device k from a first mode to a second mode, the second mode consuming more power than the first mode;
a is a control state vector of the multi-device system, each k-th component indicating a state for device k, where a value of 0 corresponds to the first mode and 1 corresponds to the second mode;
z is a demand state of the multi-device system;
σ
,z is a state of the multi-device system;
ek is a vector of Os for each component except the k-th component, which is 1; and
V is the second cost function; andb) the second cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression; - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for reducing energy consumption in a multi-device system comprising a plurality of devices, said method comprising:
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receiving a job to be executed; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of devices for executing the job and a transfer cost for transferring the job from the selected device to each of the plurality of devices; determining a device from the plurality of the devices to execute the job through optimization of a first cost function, the first cost function based on the device selection, the received transfer costs, and power consumption costs of transitioning devices of the plurality of devices between different energy consumption modes; assigning the job to the determined device; determining a globally optimal time-out for each device in the multi-device system through optimization of a second cost function, the time-out for each device being the time for which the device remains in a first of the energy consumption modes, after a job is completed, before moving to a second of the energy consumption modes, which consumes less energy, in the absence of the arrival of another job, the second cost function being based on an expected energy consumption by the multi-device system; and
,providing the devices with the determined time-outs; wherein the expected energy consumption is based on probability distributions for device selections and times between jobs; and wherein at least one of the determining of the device and the determining of the time-outs includes; modeling a control problem as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), the MDP including the first cost function and the second cost function and wherein at least one of; a) the first cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression;
Vhσ
,z=minkRhk+(1−
σ
k){circumflex over (b)}kVσ
+(1−
σ
k)ek,z
(19)where k is one of the plurality of devices;
h is the selected one of the plurality of devices;
Rhk is the transfer cost for device k;
{circumflex over (b)}k is the cost of transitioning device k from a first mode to a second mode, the second mode consuming more power than the first mode;
σ
is a control state vector of the multi-device system, each k-th component indicating a state for device k, where a value of 0 corresponds to the first mode and 1 corresponds to the second mode;
z is a demand state of the multi-device system;
σ
, z is a state of the multi-device system;
ek is a vector of Os for each component except the k-th component, which is 1; and
V is the second cost function; andb) the second cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression; - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A printing system comprising:
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a plurality of print devices; and
,a control system for reducing energy consumption, said control system comprising; at least one processor programmed to; receive a print job to be executed; receive a print job ticket submitted by a user, the print job ticket submitted including a selection of one of the plurality of print devices for executing the print job and a transfer cost for transferring the print job from the selected print device to each of the plurality of print devices; determine a print device from the plurality of print devices to execute the print job through optimization of a first cost function, the first cost function based on the print device selection, the received transfer costs, and power consumption costs of transitioning devices of the plurality of devices between different energy consumption modes; assign the print job to the determined print device; determine a globally optimized time-out for each of the plurality of print devices through optimization of a second cost function, wherein the time-out for each print device is the time for which the device remains in a first mode, after a job is completed, before moving to a second mode, which consumes less energy, in the absence of the arrival of another print job, the second cost function being based on an expected energy consumption by the printing system, the expected energy consumption being the combined energy consumption expected of all of the plurality of devices; and
,provide the print devices with the determined time-outs; and wherein at least one of the determining of the print device and the determining of the time-outs includes; modeling a control problem as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), the MDP including the first cost function and the second cost function and wherein at least one of; a) the first cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression;
Vhσ
,z=minkRhk+(1−
σ
k){circumflex over (b)}kVσ
+(1−
σ
k)ek,z
(19)where k is one of the plurality of devices;
h is the selected one of the plurality of devices;
Rhk is the transfer cost for device k;
{circumflex over (b)}k is the cost of transitioning device k from a first mode to a second mode, the second mode consuming more power than the first mode;
σ
is a control state vector of the multi-device system, each k-th component indicating a state for device k, where a value of 0 corresponds to the first mode and 1 corresponds to the second mode;
z is a demand state of the multi-device system;
σ
, z is a state of the multi-device system;
ek is a vector of Os for each component except the k-th component, which is 1; and
V is the second cost function; andb) the second cost function in an optimal regime is computed according to the expression;
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Specification