Print production scheduling
First Claim
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1. A print production scheduler comprising:
- a server including a non-volatile memory to store, and a processor to execute, machine readable instructions to provide;
a dispatcher module including;
a first sort function to sort a plurality of print requests for placement, among containers, wherein each container is assigned a time interval, and each of the plurality of print requests is placed in one of the containers according to a time-based attribute of the print request and the time interval of the container where the print request is placed, andwithin each container, the first sort function is to sort priorities of the print requests within the container; and
a second sort function to sort the print requests across all the containers into a prioritized list of all print requests,wherein the dispatcher module selects top N print requests from the prioritized list and releases them upon a first periodic trigger signal; and
a task-resource scheduler module to convert the prioritized list into, and to release upon a second periodic trigger signal, a task-resource schedule.
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Abstract
A print production system includes a dispatcher and a task-resource scheduler. The dispatcher sorts print requests for placement among a series of containers to identify relative priorities among all print requests in each container and then merges the containers together to produce a prioritized list of print requests among all containers. Upon release by the dispatcher of a top N print requests from the prioritized list, the scheduler converts the prioritized list into a task-resource schedule for print production.
22 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A print production scheduler comprising:
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a server including a non-volatile memory to store, and a processor to execute, machine readable instructions to provide; a dispatcher module including; a first sort function to sort a plurality of print requests for placement, among containers, wherein each container is assigned a time interval, and each of the plurality of print requests is placed in one of the containers according to a time-based attribute of the print request and the time interval of the container where the print request is placed, and within each container, the first sort function is to sort priorities of the print requests within the container; and a second sort function to sort the print requests across all the containers into a prioritized list of all print requests, wherein the dispatcher module selects top N print requests from the prioritized list and releases them upon a first periodic trigger signal; and a task-resource scheduler module to convert the prioritized list into, and to release upon a second periodic trigger signal, a task-resource schedule. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A print service provider system comprising:
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a production scheduler module including a server having a non-volatile memory to store, and a processor to execute, machine readable instructions to provide; a dispatcher module including; a first sort function to sort a plurality of print requests for placement among containers, wherein each container is assigned a time interval, and each of the plurality of print requests is placed in one of the containers according to a time-based attribute of the print request and the time interval of the container where the print request is placed, and, within each container, the first sort function is to sort priorities of the print requests within the container; and a second sort function to merge the containers to produce a prioritized list of print requests for all containers; a release function to release, upon a first periodic trigger signal, a portion of the prioritized list that includes a top N print requests; and a task-resource scheduler module to convert the released list into, a task-resource schedule and upon a second periodic trigger signal, releasing the task-resource schedule; and a print production facility including at least one printer to at least partially perform the task-resource schedule, wherein the print production facility includes a surveillance module to track real-time surveillance information at the print production facility including at least one of a resource workload parameter, a process rework parameter, and a resource interruption parameter, wherein the task-resource scheduler module converts the released list into the task-resource schedule based at least partially on the real-time surveillance information. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A non transitory computer readable medium storing machine readable instructions, executable on a processor, for performing an automated method of managing print production, the method comprising:
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partitioning a pool of print requests among containers, wherein each container is assigned a time interval, and the partitioning includes placing each of the plurality of print requests in one of the containers according to a time-based attribute of the print request and the time interval of the container where the print request is placed; within each container, determining priorities among print requests in the container; and merging the containers to determine a global prioritized list of print requests for the containers; releasing, upon a first periodic trigger signal, a portion of the prioritized list that includes a top N print requests; and converting the released list into a task-resource schedule and releasing, upon a second periodic trigger signal, the task-resource schedule for print production. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification