High speed inkjet printing system and method

Abstract

The application discloses a high-speed ink-jet printing system and method, and relates to the ink-jet printing technical field.The high-speed ink-jet printing system comprises a host computer, a PCIE adapter module, a data distribution module, a nozzle driving module, a nozzle and an interface control module.The high-speed ink-jet printing system is connected with the host computer and the data distribution module through the PCIE adapter module, and the printing data and the first printing control command in the host computer are quickly sent to the data distribution module by using the high-bandwidth transmission capacity of the PCIE adapter module; the printing data is transmitted to the nozzle driving module by the data distribution module to drive the nozzle to print by ink jetting.The PCIE adapter module ensures the quick transmission of the printing data, avoids the problem of insufficient bandwidth caused by too large printing data, ensures the quick transmission of the printing data and realizes the high-speed printing application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of inkjet printing technology, and more particularly to a high-speed inkjet printing system and method. Background Technology

[0002] Inkjet printing technology refers to the technology of ejecting ink droplets from a printhead onto a printing medium to obtain images or text. For example... Figure 1 As shown, existing inkjet printing systems typically include a host computer and a slave computer. The host computer is a PC, while the slave computer includes a main control module, a data distribution module, a printhead driver module, and printheads. The process of an inkjet printer printing images and text involves processing the image as the printing target through a raster image processor (RIP) in the host computer, converting it into print data that the inkjet printer can recognize. Then, the host computer transmits the print data to the main control module of the slave computer. The main control module parses the received print data and distributes it to the printhead driver module. Finally, the printhead driver module controls the printhead to perform inkjet printing based on the received print data.

[0003] With the development of industrial printing, the demand for printing speed is increasing. To achieve high-speed inkjet printing, multiple printheads often need to work simultaneously in the printing system, resulting in a correspondingly larger amount of data to be processed. Traditional printing systems generally use USB buses or gigabit Ethernet for data transmission and printing control commands. However, the transmission bandwidth of neither gigabit Ethernet nor USB buses is sufficient to support the scenario of multiple printheads printing simultaneously in high-speed inkjet printing applications. Therefore, insufficient transmission bandwidth is a problem that urgently needs to be solved in high-speed inkjet printing applications. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a high-speed inkjet printing system and method to solve the problem of insufficient bandwidth in high-speed inkjet printing in the prior art.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a high-speed inkjet printing system, the system comprising:

[0006] The system comprises a host computer, a PCIe adapter module, an interface control module, a data distribution module, a nozzle driver module, and a nozzle; wherein the host computer is connected to the PCIe adapter module and the interface control module, the PCIe adapter module is connected to several data distribution modules, the data distribution modules are connected to several nozzle driver modules, and the nozzle driver modules are connected to several nozzles.

[0007] The PCIe adapter module is used to send print data and a first print control command from the host computer to the data distribution module; the data distribution module is used to send print data and a first print control command from the PCIe adapter module to the printhead driver module; the printhead driver module is used to drive the printhead to output ink for printing.

[0008] The interface control module is used to connect to the printing auxiliary module in the printing system, and to send the second printing control command from the host computer to the printing auxiliary module and / or to report the information generated by the printing auxiliary module to the host computer.

[0009] Preferably, the printing auxiliary module includes at least one, two or more of the following: a motor control module, an ink pump control module, a grating module, and an encoder module.

[0010] Preferably, the PCIe adapter module includes at least an FPGA module and a first optical module, wherein the FPGA module embeds a PCIe protocol processing module and a serial transceiver, and communicates with the host computer through the PCIe interface and with the data distribution module through the first optical module.

[0011] Preferably, the data distribution module is provided with a second optical module that cooperates with the PCIe adapter module, and the first optical module in each PCIe adapter module is connected to the second optical module of the data distribution module.

[0012] Preferably, the PCIe adapter module can connect to 1 to 16 of the data distribution modules, each of the data distribution modules can connect to 1 to 32 nozzle drive modules, and each nozzle drive module can drive 1 to 2 nozzles.

[0013] Preferably, the host computer and the interface control module are connected via a USB bus or a gigabit Ethernet.

[0014] Secondly, embodiments of the present invention provide a high-speed inkjet printing method, the method comprising:

[0015] The host computer sends data to the PCIe adapter module via the PCIe interface; wherein, the data includes at least print data and a first print control command;

[0016] The PCIe adapter module receives the data and sends the data to the data distribution module;

[0017] The data distribution module sends the print data and the first print control command to the printhead drive module;

[0018] The printhead drive module performs inkjet printing based on the printing data and the first printing control command.

[0019] The host computer sends a second control command to the printing auxiliary module in the printing system through the interface control module to complete the corresponding printing auxiliary functions.

[0020] Preferably, the method further includes:

[0021] The PCIE adapter module receives information from the nozzle drive module and reports it to the host computer.

[0022] Preferably, the method further includes:

[0023] The interface control module receives information from the printing assistance module and reports it to the host computer.

[0024] In summary, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0025] The high-speed inkjet printing system provided in this embodiment of the invention includes: a host computer, a PCIe adapter module, a data distribution module, a printhead driver module, a printhead, and an interface control module. The high-speed inkjet printing system connects the host computer and the data distribution module via the PCIe adapter module. Utilizing the high bandwidth transmission capability of the PCIe adapter module, the system rapidly sends printing data and the first printing control command from the host computer to the data distribution module. The data distribution module then rapidly sends the printed data and the first printing control command forwarded by the PCIe adapter to the printhead driver module to drive the printhead. Furthermore, the system also connects the host computer and a printing auxiliary module within the printing system via the interface control module. The interface control module sends the second printing control command from the host computer to the printing auxiliary module and / or reports information generated by the printing auxiliary module back to the host computer, thereby completing printing auxiliary processes such as motor control and ink pump control. The added PCIe adapter module ensures rapid transmission of printing data, avoiding the problem of insufficient bandwidth due to excessive printing data volume, thus guaranteeing rapid printing data transmission and realizing high-speed printing applications.

[0026] Based on the high-speed inkjet printing system provided in this embodiment, this invention also provides a high-speed inkjet printing method. The method involves controlling a host computer to send data to a PCIe adapter module via a PCIe interface. The data includes at least print data and a first print control command. The PCIe adapter module receives the data and sends it to a data distribution module. The data distribution module receives the data and sends it to a printhead driver module. The printhead driver module drives the printhead to perform inkjet printing according to the print data and the first print control command. The host computer issues a second control command to a print auxiliary module in the printing system via an interface control module to complete the corresponding print auxiliary functions. This invention's method ensures rapid transmission of print data by using a PCIe adapter module, avoiding bandwidth shortages due to excessive print data volume, thus enabling high-speed printing applications. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort, and these are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a high-speed inkjet printing system, which is the background technology of this invention.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the high-speed inkjet printing system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the high-speed inkjet printing method according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the high-speed inkjet printing system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the high-speed inkjet printing device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the host computer structure in Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail. To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only configured to explain the present invention and are not configured to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can be practiced without some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is merely intended to provide a better understanding of the present invention by illustrating examples of the invention.

[0035] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0036] Example 1

[0037] Please see Figure 2 This invention provides a high-speed inkjet printing system, which can be a reciprocating scanning inkjet printing system or a Single-Pass inkjet printing system. The high-speed inkjet printing system includes: a host computer, a PCIe adapter module, a data distribution module, a printhead driver module, and an interface control module. The host computer is connected to the PCIe adapter module and the interface control module, the PCIe adapter module is connected to a plurality of the data distribution modules, and the data distribution modules are connected to a plurality of printhead driver modules.

[0038] The PCIe adapter module is used to send the print data and the first print control command from the host computer to the data distribution module;

[0039] The data distribution module is used to connect several nozzle drive modules;

[0040] The nozzle drive module is used to connect several nozzles and drive the nozzles to work.

[0041] The interface control module is used to connect to the printing auxiliary module in the printing system, and to send the second printing control command from the host computer to the printing auxiliary module and / or to report the information generated by the printing auxiliary module to the host computer.

[0042] Specifically, to address the bandwidth deficiency issue in existing multi-head printing systems, this invention improves printer bandwidth by adding a PCIe adapter module and utilizing high-speed PCIe transmission. Preferably, the PCIe adapter module is embedded in a host computer. The host computer primarily handles data processing, such as performing RIP processing on the image to be printed to generate image dot matrix data (print data), and performing data processing on the image dot matrix data according to printing parameters, including splitting, feathering, mirroring, and dot extraction, to obtain the processed print data.

[0043] The PCIe adapter module communicates with the host computer via the PCIe interface. The host computer sends print data, print parameters, and printhead driver module control commands (referred to as the first print control command) to the PCIe adapter module. Because the PCIe adapter module is connected to the data distribution module, and the data distribution module is connected to the printhead driver module, the PCIe module transmits these data and commands to the printhead driver module accordingly. The printhead driver module then drives the printhead to perform inkjet printing based on this data and commands.

[0044] Furthermore, inkjet printing requires the cooperation of other printing auxiliary modules to complete the entire process. These modules include a motor control module for controlling the motor, an ink pump control module for controlling the ink pump in the ink supply system, a raster module, an encoder module, etc. Because the amount of data sent to these modules is generally small or only consists of control commands, these modules do not need to be connected to the host computer via a PCIe adapter module. Instead, they communicate directly with the host computer through an interface control module. The host computer sends control commands (referred to as the second print control command) to these printing auxiliary modules through the interface control module, and the information generated by these printing auxiliary modules can also be reported back to the host computer through the interface control module.

[0045] In some embodiments, the PCIe adapter module includes at least an FPGA module and an optical module (denoted as the first optical module). The FPGA module embeds a PCIe protocol processing module and a serial transceiver, and communicates with a host computer via the PCIe interface and with the printhead driver module via the optical module. The PCIe adapter module uses an FPGA chip with an embedded PCIe protocol processing module and serial transceiver, and incorporates an optical interface module, to achieve communication with the host computer via the PCIe interface and with the printhead driver module via the fiber optic interface.

[0046] In practical applications, different PCIe communication protocols and different numbers of PCIe lanes can be selected based on the maximum transmission bandwidth required by the printing system. Currently, there are four PCIe communication standards: PCIe 1.0, PCIe 2.0, PCIe 3.0, and PCIe 4.0, and five PCIe lane numbers: X1, X2, X4, X8, and X16. See Table 1 for details.

[0047] Table 1

[0048] Number of Channels / PCIe Communication Standard PCIe 1.0 PCIe 2.0 PCIe 3.0 PCIe 4.0 X1 2Gbps 4Gbps 8Gbps 16Gbps X2 4Gbps 8Gbps 16Gbps 32Gbps X4 8Gbps 16Gbps 32Gbps 64Gbps X8 16Gbps 32Gbps 64Gbps 128Gbps X16 32Gbps 64Gbps 128Gbps 256Gbps

[0049] Based on the maximum transmission bandwidth required by the printing system, select any of the above communication protocols and the number of channels for communication between the host computer and the PCIe adapter module. For example, if the printing system requires a maximum transmission bandwidth of 58Gbps, according to Table 1, a PCIe communication method with a bandwidth greater than 58Gbps needs to be selected. Therefore, options include PCIe 2.0 with x16 channels, PCIe 3.0 with x8 or x16 channels, and PCIe 4.0 with x4, x8, or x16 channels. Considering bandwidth requirements and cost, users can choose the most suitable communication method from the above options to achieve both bandwidth requirements and maximum cost reduction.

[0050] In some embodiments, the PCIe adapter module has 1 to 16 optical modules for communication with the data distribution module. Similarly, the data distribution module also has an optical module (referred to as the second optical module) that works with the PCIe adapter module. Each optical module in the PCIe adapter module is connected to an optical module in the data distribution module, communicating via optical fiber. The data distribution module can connect to 1 to 16 printhead driver modules, each driving 1 to 2 printheads. In actual printing applications, the host computer sends printing data, printing parameters, and printhead driver module control commands to the PCIe adapter module. After receiving the information from the host computer, the PCIe adapter module transmits it via optical fiber to the data distribution module, which then sends this data to the printhead driver module. Simultaneously, the PCIe adapter module receives feedback information from the data distribution module via optical fiber and reports it to the host computer, thereby controlling the printhead driver module and the printheads. The number of data distribution modules connected to the PCIe adapter module, the number of printhead driver modules connected to the data distribution modules, and the number of printheads connected to the printhead driver modules can be determined based on the actual printing application. For example, if the printing application requires driving 128 printheads simultaneously for inkjet printing, then using 4 data distribution modules, each connecting to 16 printhead driver modules, and each printhead driver module connecting to 2 printheads, will meet the printing requirements. Alternatively, 8 data distribution modules can be used, each connecting to 16 printhead driver modules, and each printhead driver module connecting to 1 printhead. In other applications requiring more printheads, corresponding optical modules and data distribution modules can be added to the PCIe adapter module to connect more printheads to meet the printing needs.

[0051] In some embodiments, the host computer and the interface control module are connected via a USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet. Because the interface control module is mainly used to connect printing auxiliary modules such as motor control modules, ink pump control modules, raster modules, and encoder modules, the amount of data sent from the host computer to these printing auxiliary modules is generally small or only consists of control commands. Therefore, the host computer can communicate with these printing auxiliary modules via the interface control module using a USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet. The host computer sends control commands (denoted as the second print control command) to these printing auxiliary modules through the interface control module, and the information generated by these printing auxiliary modules can also be reported back to the host computer via the interface control module through a USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet, thereby completing printing auxiliary functions such as motor control, ink pump control, raster control, and photocell control.

[0052] In summary, this invention provides a high-speed inkjet printing system, comprising: a host computer, a PCIe adapter module, a data distribution module, a printhead driver module, a printhead, and an interface control module. The high-speed inkjet printing system connects the host computer and the data distribution module via the PCIe adapter module. Utilizing the high bandwidth transmission capability of the PCIe adapter module, the system rapidly sends printing data and the first printing control command from the host computer to the data distribution module. The data distribution module then sends the printing data and the first printing control command to the printhead driver module to drive the printhead. Furthermore, the system also connects the host computer and a printing auxiliary module within the printing system via the interface control module. The interface control module sends the second printing control command from the host computer to the printing auxiliary module and / or reports information generated by the printing auxiliary module back to the host computer, thereby completing printing auxiliary processes such as motor control and ink pump control. The added PCIe adapter module ensures rapid transmission of printing data, avoiding bandwidth shortages due to excessive printing data volume, thus enabling high-speed printing applications.

[0053] Example 2

[0054] Based on the above embodiment one, this embodiment of the invention provides a high-speed inkjet printing method. The high-speed inkjet printing method is applied to the high-speed inkjet printing system described in embodiment one. The high-speed inkjet printing system can be a reciprocating scanning inkjet printing system or a Single-Pass inkjet printing system. The high-speed inkjet printing system includes: a host computer, a PCIe adapter module, a data distribution module, a printhead driver module, a printhead, an interface control module, and a printhead; wherein, the host computer is connected to the PCIe adapter module and the interface control module respectively, the PCIe adapter module is connected to the data distribution module, and the data distribution module is connected to the printhead driver module.

[0055] Please see Figure 3 The method includes:

[0056] S1: The host computer sends data to the PCIe adapter module via the PCIe interface; wherein, the data includes at least print data and a first print control command;

[0057] Specifically, the print data here refers to the print data processed by the host computer. Before printing the image to be printed, halftone technology is often used to perform halftone processing (or screening) on ​​the image input to the host computer, generating image dot matrix data that can be recognized by the slave computer. If the image to be printed is a color image, it is often processed separately according to the printer's four CMYK color channels. That is, the color image is divided into the C (cyan) channel image to be printed, the M (magenta) channel image to be printed, the Y (yellow) channel image to be printed, and the K (black) channel image to be printed. Halftone processing is then performed on each of these to obtain the image dot matrix data corresponding to each color channel. Then, based on which printheads or which channels of which printheads each color channel are composed of, how many passes the image to be printed was completed (number of scans or passes), printing precision, printhead precision, maximum firing frequency, and other printing parameters, the image dot matrix data is further split. If feathering printing is enabled during printing, the image dot matrix data also needs to be feathered according to printing parameters such as feathering amplitude. Furthermore, depending on the actual printing requirements, it may be necessary to perform mirroring, dot extraction, and other processing on the image dot matrix data. This data processing is performed on the host computer. The host computer performs halftone or RIP processing on the input image to be printed to obtain image dot matrix data. Then, it performs feathering, mirroring, splitting, and other processing on the image dot matrix data to obtain the final print data (the print data is saved in PRN file format). Because high-speed inkjet printing systems have a large number of printheads, the amount of print data that needs to be transmitted from the host computer to each printhead is very large. The bandwidth of USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet is insufficient to handle this, while PCIe bus transmission bandwidth has a significant advantage over Gigabit Ethernet and USB bus. Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the host computer transmits print data, print parameters, or control commands to the printhead driver module (denoted as the first control command) to the PCIe adapter module via the PCIe interface.

[0058] S2: The PCIe adapter module receives the data and sends the data to the data distribution module;

[0059] Preferably, the PCIe adapter module includes an FPGA module and an optical module (denoted as the first optical module). The FPGA module embeds a PCIe protocol processing module and a serial transceiver, and communicates with the host computer via the PCIe interface and with the printhead drive module via the first optical module. After receiving print data, print parameters, and a first print control command from the host computer, the FPGA module in the PCIe adapter module distributes the print data to the corresponding data distribution module via the first optical module according to the print parameters and the first print control command. At the data distribution module end, a second optical module is also provided to cooperate with the first optical module to receive the data distributed from the PCIe adapter module.

[0060] For example, such as Figure 4 The high-speed inkjet printing system shown includes four data distribution modules. Each data distribution module connects to n printhead driver modules, and each printhead driver module connects to m printheads, where n and m are natural numbers greater than or equal to 1. A first optical module A, first optical module B, first optical module C, and first optical module D are installed on the PCIe adapter module. These modules are connected via optical fibers to second optical modules 1, 2, 3, and 4 on data distribution modules 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Printing data and printhead driver module control commands are converted from electrical signals to optical signals via first optical modules A, B, C, and D and transmitted to the data distribution modules. The second optical modules 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the data distribution modules then convert the received optical signals back into electrical signals.

[0061] During transmission, the PFGA module in the PCIe adapter module first divides the print data into four parts, labeled as print data 1, print data 2, print data 3, and print data 4. Then, print data 1 and the corresponding control commands of the printhead driver module 1 are transmitted to the data distribution module 1 via the first optical module A and the second optical module 1; print data 2 and the corresponding control commands of the printhead driver module 2 are transmitted to the data distribution module 2 via the first optical module B and the second optical module 2; print data 3 and the corresponding control commands of the printhead driver module 3 are transmitted to the data distribution module 3 via the first optical module C and the second optical module 3; and print data 4 and the corresponding control commands of the printhead driver module 4 are transmitted to the data distribution module 4 via the first optical module D and the second optical module 4. In some embodiments, in addition to the host computer sending print data to the data distribution module via the PCIe adapter module, the data distribution module can also report feedback information from the printhead driver module to the host computer via the PCIe adapter module, so that the host computer can monitor the printhead printing status in real time and handle abnormal printing situations promptly.

[0062] In one embodiment, after receiving data from the host computer, the PCIe adapter module parses the print data and the first print control command. Based on the first print control command, it splits the print data according to the number of print passes, obtaining sub-print data corresponding to each pass. Different sub-print data include different amounts of data. Further, it obtains the amount of blank data in the sub-print data, denoted as the blank data amount. The sub-print data is then regrouped based on the blank data amount, and the regrouped sub-print data is transmitted to the data distribution module through the corresponding first optical module. Generally, the PCIe receiving module sends the received print data for each pass sequentially to the data distribution module, which then distributes it to each printhead for printing. In some cases, each pass of print data often includes large blocks of blank data, which corresponds to the printhead not printing ink. To save bandwidth and improve data transmission efficiency, blank data can be omitted during transmission and added when distributing to the printhead. Therefore, during data transmission, the printed data for each pass, after removing blank data, can be regrouped into sub-printed data containing only non-blank data. This ensures that each transmitted data is non-blank, improving data transmission efficiency. The regrouped sub-printed data is then distributed to the corresponding first optical modules for transmission to the data distribution module. S3: The data distribution module sends the printed data and the first print control command to the printhead drive module.

[0063] After receiving the print data and the first print control command from the PCIe adapter module, the data distribution module splits the print data and sends it to each printhead driver module.

[0064] S4: The printhead drive module drives the printhead to perform inkjet printing according to the printing data and the first printing control command;

[0065] After receiving the print data, the printhead driver module further splits and distributes the print data to the corresponding printheads or channels according to the number of printheads it drives or the number of channels in the printheads, and controls the printheads to perform inkjet printing according to the corresponding first print control command.

[0066] S5: The host computer sends a second control command to the printing auxiliary module in the printing system through the interface control module to complete the corresponding printing auxiliary function.

[0067] During inkjet printing, in addition to controlling the printhead to output ink, various printing auxiliary modules in the printing system also need to perform corresponding functions to ensure the execution of the printing task. These printing auxiliary modules include motor control modules, ink pump control modules, raster modules, encoder modules, etc. These modules communicate with the host computer through an interface control module, which in turn connects to the host computer via a USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet. Because the interface control module is mainly used to connect printing auxiliary modules such as motor control modules, ink pump control modules, raster modules, and encoder modules, the amount of data sent from the host computer to these printing auxiliary modules is generally small or only consists of control commands. Therefore, the host computer can communicate with these printing auxiliary modules via the interface control module using a USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet. The host computer sends control commands (referred to as the second print control command) to these printing auxiliary modules through the interface control module, and the information generated by these printing auxiliary modules can also be reported back to the host computer via the interface control module through a USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet, thereby completing printing auxiliary functions such as motor control, ink pump control, raster control, and photocell control.

[0068] In summary, the high-speed inkjet printing method provided by this invention involves a host computer sending data to a PCIe adapter module via a PCIe interface. The data includes at least print data and a first print control command. The PCIe adapter module receives the data and sends it to a data distribution module. The data distribution module then sends the received data to a printhead driver module. The printhead driver module drives the printhead to perform inkjet printing based on the print data and the first print control command. The host computer issues a second control command to a print auxiliary module in the printing system via an interface control module to complete the corresponding print auxiliary functions. This invention ensures rapid transmission of print data by using a PCIe adapter module, avoiding bandwidth limitations caused by excessive print data volume, and thus enabling high-speed printing applications.

[0069] Example 3

[0070] Based on the above embodiment 2, this embodiment of the invention provides a high-speed inkjet printing device 200. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 5 The device 200 includes:

[0071] The sending module 201 is used for the host computer to send data to the PCIe adapter module via the PCIe interface; wherein the data includes at least print data and a first print control command;

[0072] The receiving module 202 is used for the PCIe adapter module to receive the data and send the data to the data distribution module;

[0073] The distribution module 203 is used to receive the data from the data distribution module and send the data to the nozzle drive module.

[0074] The first driving module 204 is used by the printhead driving module to drive the printhead to perform inkjet printing according to the printing data and the first printing control command.

[0075] The second drive module 205 is used by the host computer to send a second control command to the printing auxiliary module in the printing system through the interface control module to complete the corresponding printing auxiliary function.

[0076] In summary, the high-speed inkjet printing device provided in this embodiment of the invention involves a host computer sending data to a PCIe adapter module via a PCIe interface. The data includes at least print data and a first print control command. The PCIe adapter module receives the data and sends it to the data distribution module. The data distribution module receives the data and sends it to the printhead driver module. The printhead driver module drives the printhead to perform inkjet printing based on the print data and the first print control command. The host computer issues a second control command to the print auxiliary module in the printing system through the interface control module to complete the corresponding print auxiliary functions. This invention ensures rapid transmission of print data by using a PCIe adapter module, avoiding bandwidth shortages due to large print data volumes, and thus enabling high-speed printing applications.

[0077] Example 4

[0078] Furthermore, based on the above embodiment one, Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the host computer provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0079] The host computer may include a processor 301 and a memory 302 storing computer program instructions.

[0080] Specifically, the processor 301 may include a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits that can be configured to implement the embodiments of the present invention.

[0081] Memory 302 may include mass storage for data or instructions. For example, and not limitingly, memory 302 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), floppy disk drive, flash memory, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, memory 302 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media. Where appropriate, memory 302 may be internal or external to a data processing device. In a particular embodiment, memory 302 is a non-volatile solid-state memory. In a particular embodiment, memory 302 includes read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, the ROM may be a mask-programmed ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), an electrically rewritable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0082] The processor 301 implements any of the high-speed inkjet printing methods described in the above embodiments by reading and executing computer program instructions stored in the memory 302.

[0083] In one example, the host computer may also include a communication interface 303 and a bus 310. For example, Figure 6 As shown, the processor 301, memory 302, and communication interface 303 are connected through bus 310 and complete communication with each other.

[0084] The communication interface 303 is mainly used to realize communication between various modules, devices, units and / or equipment in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0085] Bus 310 includes hardware, software, or both, that couples components of a host computer together. For example, and not limitingly, bus 310 may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, a Front Side Bus (FSB), HyperTransport (HT) interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an Infinite Bandwidth Interconnect, a Low Pin Count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Microchannel Architecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCI-X) bus, a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association Local (VLB) bus, or other suitable buses, or combinations of two or more of these. Where appropriate, bus 310 may include one or more buses. Although specific buses are described and illustrated in embodiments of the invention, the invention contemplates any suitable bus or interconnect.

[0086] It should be clarified that the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations and processes described above and shown in the figures. For the sake of brevity, detailed descriptions of known methods are omitted here. In the above embodiments, several specific steps are described and shown as examples. However, the method process of the present invention is not limited to the specific steps described and shown. Those skilled in the art can make various changes, modifications, and additions, or change the order of steps, after understanding the spirit of the present invention.

[0087] The functional blocks shown in the above-described structural diagram can be implemented as hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in hardware, they can be, for example, electronic circuits, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), appropriate firmware, plug-ins, function cards, etc. When implemented in software, the elements of this invention are programs or code segments used to perform the required tasks. The programs or code segments can be stored on a machine-readable medium or transmitted over a transmission medium or communication link via data signals carried in a carrier wave. "Machine-readable medium" can include any medium capable of storing or transmitting information. Examples of machine-readable media include electronic circuits, semiconductor memory devices, ROM, flash memory, erasable ROM (EROM), floppy disks, CD-ROMs, optical disks, hard disks, fiber optic media, radio frequency (RF) links, etc. Code segments can be downloaded via computer networks such as the Internet, intranets, etc.

[0088] It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiments mentioned in this invention describe methods or systems based on a series of steps or apparatus. However, this invention is not limited to the order of the steps described above; that is, the steps can be performed in the order mentioned in the embodiments, or in a different order, or several steps can be performed simultaneously.

[0089] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, modules, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. It should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and these modifications or substitutions should all be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A high-speed inkjet printing system, characterized in that, The system includes: a host computer, a PCIe adapter module, an interface control module, a data distribution module, a nozzle driver module, and nozzles; wherein, the host computer is connected to the PCIe adapter module and the interface control module respectively, the PCIe adapter module is connected to a plurality of the data distribution modules, wherein the PCIe adapter module includes at least an FPGA module and a first optical module, the data distribution module is connected to a plurality of the nozzle driver modules, and the nozzle driver module is connected to a plurality of the nozzles; The PCIe adapter module is used to send the print data and the first print control command from the host computer to the data distribution module. Specifically, the first print control command splits the print data according to the number of print passes to obtain sub-print data corresponding to each pass, obtains the amount of blank data in the sub-print data and records it as the blank data amount, regroups the sub-print data according to the blank data amount, and transmits the regrouped sub-print data to the data distribution module through the corresponding first optical module. The data distribution module is used to send the print data and the first print control command from the PCIe adapter module to the printhead driver module. The printhead driver module is used to drive the printhead to output ink for printing. The interface control module is used to connect to the printing auxiliary module in the printing system, and to send the second printing control command from the host computer to the printing auxiliary module and / or to report the information generated by the printing auxiliary module to the host computer.

2. The high-speed inkjet printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The printing assistance module includes any one, two or more of the following: a motor control module, an ink pump control module, a grating module, and an encoder module.

3. The high-speed inkjet printing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The PCIe adapter module includes at least an FPGA module and a first optical module. The FPGA module has an embedded PCIe protocol processing module and a serial transceiver, and communicates with the host computer through the PCIe interface and with the data distribution module through the first optical module.

4. The high-speed inkjet printing system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The data distribution module is provided with a second optical module that cooperates with the PCIe adapter module, and the first optical module in each PCIe adapter module is connected to the second optical module of the data distribution module.

5. The high-speed inkjet printing system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The PCIe adapter module can connect to 1 to 16 of the data distribution modules, each of the data distribution modules can connect to 1 to 32 nozzle drive modules, and each nozzle drive module can drive 1 to 2 nozzles.

6. The high-speed inkjet printing system according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The host computer and the interface control module are connected via USB bus or Gigabit Ethernet.

7. A high-speed inkjet printing method, characterized in that, Printing is performed using the high-speed inkjet printing system as described in any one of claims 1-6, the method comprising: The host computer sends data to the PCIe adapter module via the PCIe interface; wherein, the data includes at least print data and a first print control command; The PCIe adapter module receives the data and sends the data to the data distribution module; The data distribution module sends the print data and the first print control command from the data to the printhead drive module; The printhead drive module controls the printhead drive module to perform inkjet printing according to the printing data and the first printing control command; The host computer sends a second control command to the printing assistance module through the interface control module to complete the corresponding printing assistance function.

8. The high-speed inkjet printing method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The PCIe adapter module receiving the data and sending the data to the data distribution module includes: The PCIe adapter module receives the data from the host computer; Obtain the print data and the first print control command from the data; The print data is split according to the first print control command to obtain several sub-print data; Obtain the amount of blank data in the sub-printed data; The sub-printed data is grouped according to the amount of blank data; The regrouped sub-print data is transmitted to the data distribution module through the corresponding first optical module.

9. The high-speed inkjet printing method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: The PCIe adapter module receives information from the data distribution module and reports it to the host computer.

10. The high-speed inkjet printing method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: The interface control module receives information from the printing assistance module and reports it to the host computer.

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