Inkjet printing methods, apparatus, equipment and storage media for eliminating splicing channels

Abstract

This invention discloses an inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for eliminating splicing channels, relating to the field of inkjet printing technology. The inkjet printing method for eliminating splicing channels includes: controlling the splicing channels to print a first test image on a printing medium; detecting the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the first test image; determining the overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel based on the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the first test image; controlling the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area, including: determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area, and closing the corresponding nozzles when printing the image to be printed based on the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed. The inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and medium for eliminating splicing channels of this invention can effectively eliminate splicing channels in printed images.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application filed on May 23, 2020, entitled "Inkjet Printing Method, Apparatus, Device and Storage Medium Based on Splicing Channel" with application number 202010445717.2. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to the field of inkjet printing technology, and in particular to an inkjet printing method, apparatus, equipment, and storage medium for eliminating splicing channels. Background Technology

[0003] Inkjet printing technology refers to the technology of spraying ink droplets onto a printing medium through a printhead to obtain images or text. This technology is non-contact printing and has advantages such as high printing speed, low pollution, vibrant image colors, long image preservation time, and adaptability to various printing media. It has been widely used in advertising production, office supplies and equipment, and printing proofing.

[0004] Inkjet printing technology uses a printhead to propel ink onto a target substrate according to specific rules. Since the printhead height is limited, wide-format printing often employs printhead splicing or channel splicing to maximize the width printed in a single pass. When using these methods, ink droplets overlap at the channel overlap points, creating a visually dark splicing line. Currently, some splicing points are closed manually by adjusting the number of orifices. However, manual orifice closing is inefficient, and the number and location of orifices closed are inaccurate, failing to effectively eliminate splicing lines in the printed image. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides an inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for eliminating splicing channels, thereby solving the technical problem that splicing channels exist in the printed images during existing inkjet splicing printing, affecting print quality.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an inkjet printing method for eliminating splicing channels, wherein the splicing channels include at least two physical channels for splicing, and there is an overlapping area between the at least two physical channels, the method comprising the following steps:

[0007] The control splicing channel prints the first test sample image on the printing medium;

[0008] Detect the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the first test sample image;

[0009] The overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel is determined based on the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink volume of each specified area of ​​the first test pattern.

[0010] Controlling the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing an image based on the overlapping area includes: determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing an image based on the overlapping area, and closing the corresponding nozzles when printing an image based on the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed.

[0011] The control splicing channel prints the first test sample image on the printing medium, including:

[0012] The logical channels used for printing are split into multiple spliced ​​channels with a single color and / or a single interpolation point based on the color channels and / or interpolation point parameters of the image to be printed.

[0013] The first test sample image is printed based on the splicing channels obtained from the splitting. The first test sample image includes multiple sub-test sample images. Each sub-test sample image is printed by its corresponding splicing channel. The process includes calculating the added offset based on the color sequence number, insertion point sequence number, number of pixels in the color band of the sub-test sample image, number of blank pixels, and number of insertion points corresponding to each splicing channel. The added offset is then used to increase the offset of each splicing channel based on the original offset before printing.

[0014] Preferably, determining the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area includes:

[0015] Get the total number of pixels in a fixed orientation of the image to be printed;

[0016] The width of the first test sample image and the width of the overlapping area of ​​ink dots or the width of the blank area in the first test sample image are detected.

[0017] Calculate the number of overlapping nozzles or blank nozzles;

[0018] The number and location of nozzles that need to be closed are determined based on the number of overlapping nozzles or blank nozzles.

[0019] Preferably, before determining the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area, the method further includes:

[0020] The second test sample image is obtained by controlling different physical channels in the splicing channel to print in different areas of the printing medium, with one physical channel corresponding to one area;

[0021] Detect the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the second test sample image;

[0022] The location of abnormal nozzles in each physical channel is determined based on the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the second test sample image.

[0023] The method of determining the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area also includes:

[0024] The positions of abnormal and normal nozzles in each physical channel within the overlapping area are determined based on the positions of the abnormal nozzles in the overlapping area and the positions of the abnormal nozzles in each physical channel.

[0025] The number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image are determined based on the positions of abnormal nozzles and normal nozzles in each physical channel within the overlapping area.

[0026] Preferably, in determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the positions of abnormal nozzles and normal nozzles in each physical channel in the overlapping area, the abnormal nozzles located in the overlapping area are kept closed, and the normal nozzles in the overlapping area that coincide with the positions of the abnormal nozzles are kept open.

[0027] Preferably, determining the number and location of nozzles to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area further includes:

[0028] The print configuration parameters for the print job are sent to the big data center, which establishes a related database. The database stores the final selected nozzle closing scheme and the print configuration using the scheme uploaded to the big data center each time a print job is printed.

[0029] Receive nozzle opening / closing status data sent by the big data center according to the printing configuration parameters of the printing task;

[0030] The number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image are determined based on the overlapping area and the nozzle opening / closing status data.

[0031] Preferably, a consecutive insertion point number is assigned to the insertion points of each color according to the number of insertion points, wherein the color number and the insertion point number are both positive integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0032] In a second aspect, the present invention provides an inkjet printing apparatus for eliminating splicing channels, the apparatus comprising:

[0033] The first test sample printing module is used to control the splicing channel to print the first test sample on the printing medium.

[0034] The first test sample image ink volume detection module is used to detect the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the first test sample image.

[0035] An overlapping area determination module is used to determine the overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel based on the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink volume of each specified area of ​​the first test pattern.

[0036] A printing control module is used to control the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing an image based on the overlapping area, including: determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing an image based on the overlapping area, and closing the corresponding nozzles when printing an image based on the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed.

[0037] The control splicing channel prints the first test sample image on the printing medium, including:

[0038] The logical channels used for printing are split into multiple spliced ​​channels with a single color and / or a single interpolation point based on the color channels and / or interpolation point parameters of the image to be printed.

[0039] The first test sample image is printed based on the splicing channels obtained from the splitting. The first test sample image includes multiple sub-test sample images. Each sub-test sample image is printed by its corresponding splicing channel. The process includes calculating the added offset based on the color sequence number, insertion point sequence number, number of pixels in the color band of the sub-test sample image, number of blank pixels, and number of insertion points corresponding to each splicing channel. The added offset is then used to increase the offset of each splicing channel based on the original offset before printing.

[0040] Thirdly, the present invention provides an inkjet printing apparatus for eliminating splicing channels, comprising at least one processor, at least one memory, and computer program instructions stored in the memory, which implement the method described in the first aspect when executed by the processor.

[0041] Fourthly, the present invention provides a storage medium storing computer program instructions thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implement the method described in the first aspect:

[0042] Beneficial Effects: In summary, the inkjet printing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for eliminating splicing channels provided by this invention prints a first test sample image on a printing medium by controlling the splicing channels; detects the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the first test sample image; determines the overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel based on the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the first test sample image; and controls the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area. This includes: determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area; closing the corresponding nozzles when printing the image to be printed based on the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed; first printing the test sample image through the splicing channels; then detecting the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the printed test sample image; and quickly and accurately locating the overlapping area of ​​the physical channels based on the ink volume of the test sample image. This allows the printing device to quickly determine the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area, and close the corresponding nozzles during printing. The entire process can be completed automatically by the printing device. Compared to existing technologies that use manual nozzle closure, this method is more efficient and the number and location of nozzle closures are more accurate, thus effectively eliminating stitching lines in printed images. Attached Figure Description

[0043] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying 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.

[0044] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of an inkjet printing method based on splicing channels according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention, which uses multiple physical channels spliced ​​together to form a single physical channel;

[0046] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the present invention for closing the hole in the overlapping area of ​​the physical channel;

[0047] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the splicing channel obtained by splitting the printing method of the present invention using 4 colors and 2 insertion points for each color;

[0048] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the first test sample image detected by the present invention;

[0049] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the inkjet printing method based on splicing channels according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 7This is a schematic diagram of two non-overlapping physical channels for inkjet printing when printing the second test sample in Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0051] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of inkjet printing with only one physical channel in Embodiment 3 of the present invention for printing the second test sample image;

[0052] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the second printed test sample detected in Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of the inkjet printing method based on splicing channels according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

[0054] Figure 11 This is a diagram showing the nozzle switch state corresponding to the diaphragm closure scheme in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 12 This is a diagram showing the nozzle switch state corresponding to the multi-hole shut-off scheme in Embodiment 4 of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 13 This is a diagram showing the nozzle switch state corresponding to the staggered shut-off scheme at the endpoints in Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

[0057] Figure 14 This is a structural block diagram of the inkjet printing device based on splicing channels in Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 15 This is a structural block diagram of the inkjet printing device based on splicing channels in Embodiment 6 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0059] 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.

[0060] 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.

[0061] Example 1

[0062] The inkjet printing method based on splicing channels of the present invention first prints a test sample image through the splicing channels, and then detects the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the printed test sample image. By using the ink volume of the test sample image, the overlapping area of ​​the physical channels can be quickly and accurately located, allowing the printing equipment to quickly and accurately adjust the nozzle closing scheme according to the overlapping area. The entire process can be completed automatically by the printing equipment.

[0063] Please see Figure 1 This embodiment provides an inkjet printing method based on splicing channels, wherein the splicing channels include at least two physical channels for splicing, and there is an overlapping area between the at least two physical channels. The method includes the following steps:

[0064] S1: The first test sample image is obtained by printing on the printing medium using the splicing channel;

[0065] S2: Detect the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the first test sample image;

[0066] S3: Determine the overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel based on the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink volume of each specified area of ​​the first test pattern.

[0067] S4: Control the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image to be printed, based on the overlapping area.

[0068] The designated areas in the test pattern refer to the areas occupied by one pixel or multiple pixels in the test pattern. To increase the width of a single print, the inkjet printing method in this embodiment splices multiple physical channels together along the width direction of the print to form a spliced ​​channel, making the width of this spliced ​​channel much larger than the width of a single physical channel. A physical channel can correspond to a single printhead or multiple printheads. To cover all areas printed in one pass, such as... Figure 2As shown, there is partial overlap between two adjacent physical channels used for splicing, meaning that a portion of the nozzles in two adjacent physical channels are located at the same position along the print width direction. The splicing channel can be formed by splicing two or more physical channels; there is no limit to the number of physical channels used for splicing.

[0069] In this embodiment, before printing the image to be printed, a test sample image, namely the aforementioned first test sample image, needs to be printed first. Specifically, the printing method involves scanning the printing medium once using the splicing channel. In the control program, each nozzle in the splicing channel is kept open. This causes the ink ejected from the nozzles in the overlapping areas between the physical channels to overlap on the printed image, resulting in a significant increase in ink volume in some areas compared to the surrounding areas. Then, a detection device, such as an image sensor, is used to detect the ink volume in each designated area of ​​the first test sample image. The areas in the first test sample image with significantly more ink than their surroundings are precisely those printed by the nozzles in the overlapping areas. Since the positions of the splicing channel in the printing width direction correspond one-to-one with the positions of the printed first test sample image in the width direction, the overlapping areas between the physical channels can be found by observing the positions of the areas with significantly increased ink volume in the first test sample image.

[0070] After the overlapping area is determined, S4: controlling the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image to be printed according to the overlapping area also includes:

[0071] S41: Determine the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area;

[0072] S42: Close the corresponding nozzles when printing the image to be printed according to the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed.

[0073] Once the overlapping area is determined, some nozzles in the overlapping area can be accurately closed during the actual printing of the image based on the position of the overlapping area. This prevents multiple nozzles from emitting ink at the same position in the splicing channel, thus avoiding ink overlapping at the same position on the printing medium to form a splicing channel.

[0074] like Figure 3 As shown, step S4 controls the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image based on the overlapping area, ensuring that the number of nozzles in the same position within the overlapping area that are in the open state is ≤1. This guarantees that no more than one nozzle is open at the same position within the overlapping area, thus preventing ink droplet overlap.

[0075] In this embodiment, step S41: determining the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area further includes:

[0076] S4101: Obtain the total number of pixels P in a fixed direction of the image to be printed;

[0077] S4102: Detect the width D1 of the first test sample image and the width D2 of the overlapping area of ​​ink dots or the width D3 of the blank area in the first test sample image;

[0078] S4103: Calculate the number of overlapping nozzles N1 or the number of blank nozzles N2;

[0079] S4104: Determine the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed based on the number of overlapping nozzles N1 or the number of blank nozzles N2.

[0080] This embodiment calculates the number of overlapping or blank nozzles based on the total number of pixels in the image width and the image width captured by the sensor, as well as the overlap or blank width. The total number of pixels in the image width is sent to the printer by the software and is therefore obtainable.

[0081] Where the number of overlapping nozzles N1 = D2 / D1 * P;

[0082] Where the number of blank nozzles N2 = D3 / D1*P.

[0083] Example 2

[0084] In some printing tasks, multiple splicing channels are often required. For example, color printing often requires different colored inks. For instance, some printing tasks might use four colors of ink: K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow). This would utilize four color channels: K, C, M, and Y. Each color channel would use one color ink, and each color channel would be printed using one splicing channel, for a total of four splicing channels. In other embodiments, any other color combination can be used; this is not limited here.

[0085] For example, some printing tasks use interpolation points, meaning each color is printed using multiple interpolation points. For instance... Figure 4 As shown, based on the previous printing using four colors of ink, a method of printing with two dots for each color is then used. Figure 4The circles represent nozzles, and different fill patterns within the circles represent different colors. Specifically, ink color K is printed using two channels, K0 and K1. Channel K0 prints the first dot of color K, and channel K1 prints the second dot. Channel K0 corresponds to one splicing channel, and channel K1 corresponds to another splicing channel. Similarly, ink color C is printed using two channels, C0 and C1. Channel C0 prints the first dot of color C, and channel C1 prints the second dot. Channel C0 corresponds to one splicing channel, and channel C1 corresponds to another splicing channel. Ink color M is printed using two channels, M0 and M1. Channel M0 prints the first dot of color M, and channel M1 prints the second dot. Channel M0 corresponds to one splicing channel, and channel M1 corresponds to another splicing channel. Ink color Y is printed using two channels, Y0 and Y1. Channel Y0 prints the first dot of color Y, and channel Y1 prints the second dot. Channel Y0 corresponds to one splicing channel, and channel Y1 corresponds to another splicing channel. Therefore, K0, K1, C0, C1, M0, M1, Y0, and Y1 correspond to a total of 8 splicing channels.

[0086] In actual printing, ink dots of different colors and different interpolation points corresponding to the splicing channels are often sprayed onto the same position on the printing medium and cannot be distinguished. This makes it difficult to determine the overlapping area of ​​the splicing channels through the printed image. To address this, this embodiment uses at least two different splicing channels for printing. In S1: the first test sample image is obtained by printing on the printing medium using the splicing channels. The first test sample image is obtained by printing in different areas of the printing medium using different splicing channels, with one splicing channel corresponding to one area.

[0087] Even if different splicing channels are printed in different areas of the printing medium, so that the images printed by different splicing channels do not overlap, the ink volume analysis of the corresponding area of ​​the splicing channel on the printing medium can be performed without being affected by other splicing channels, and the overlapping area of ​​each splicing channel can be accurately obtained.

[0088] The specific steps can be as follows:

[0089] S11: Based on the color channel and / or interpolation parameters of the image to be printed, split the logical channel used for printing into multiple splicing channels with a single color and / or a single interpolation.

[0090] The splitting method involves dividing the print channel according to the printed color and the number of interpolation points. Channels with the same color and the same interpolation point are separated into a single splicing channel. That is, each splicing channel corresponds to one color and one interpolation point. The number of splicing channels is the product of the number of colors and the number of interpolation points for each color. Through this splitting process, multiple splicing channels corresponding to different colors and different interpolation points can be obtained. For example, the aforementioned printing method with four colors and two interpolation points each can be split into eight splicing channels: K0, K1, C0, C1, M0, M1, Y0, and Y1.

[0091] S12: Print the first test pattern according to the splicing channel obtained by splitting. The first test pattern includes multiple sub-test patterns, and each sub-test pattern is printed by the corresponding splicing channel.

[0092] In actual printing, these splicing channels are matched to the same point on the image by color matching. This involves adjusting the printing direction offset; the greater the offset, the later the ink is ejected, ultimately resulting in a single point. To separate the dots of the different splicing channels and print them separately in different areas of the printing medium on the first test print, the following steps can be used.

[0093] S12: Print the first test pattern according to the splicing channel obtained by splitting. The first test pattern includes multiple sub-test patterns, and each sub-test pattern is printed by the corresponding splicing channel.

[0094] S121: Set a color number for each color, and set a consecutive insertion point number for each color's insertion point according to the number of insertion points m. The color number is represented by i, and the insertion point number is represented by j. Both i and j are positive integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0095] S122: Set the number of pixels r of the color band and the number of blank pixels s of the sub-test sample image;

[0096] S123: Calculate the additional offset Y based on the color number i, the insertion point number j, the number of pixels r of the sub-test sample color band, the number of blank pixels s, and the number of insertion points m corresponding to each splicing channel;

[0097] S124: Print each splicing channel after increasing the offset by Y based on the original offset.

[0098] The method for calculating the increased offset Y in the aforementioned S123 is: Y = r * (i * m + j) + s.

[0099] The aforementioned method adds an offset to the original offset of the ink dots, and after one scan, it can make each splicing channel print color bands of different pixels. Subsequently, by detecting the amount of ink in each color band along the printing width direction, the overlapping area of ​​each splicing channel can be accurately detected.

[0100] The following explanation uses the aforementioned four colors, each with two interpolation points, as an example. The color numbers for K, C, M, and Y are 0, 1, 2, and 3 respectively. For example, if M1 needs to print a 500-pixel color band with a 100-pixel white space, and M1's color number is 2, its interpolation point number is 1, and each color has 2 interpolation points, then M1 needs to add an offset of 500 * (2 * 2 + 1) + 100 pixels to the original printing direction offset. Finally, eight monochrome images are generated, each 500 pixels long and spaced 100 pixels apart.

[0101] The total width of the first test sample image generated by channel splitting is fixed. The total length of the first test sample = Y * number of colors * number of interpolation points for each color - 100. To facilitate sensor detection, the 100 blank pixels in the last splicing channel are not counted. The splicing channel for a specific color and interpolation point can be calculated based on the offset of the anomaly location in the length direction. Then, the overlap of the physical channels in that splicing channel can be calculated through the anomaly location in the width direction.

[0102] As shown in the figure, for example, if an abnormal splicing is detected in the K0 splicing channel, the K0 splicing channel is composed of three physical channels K00, K01, and K02. According to the position calculation in the width direction, the channels K01 and K02 overlap. According to the position of the origin, K01 is close to the origin while K02 is far from the origin. Therefore, the overlapping part is the lower end of K01 and the upper end of K02.

[0103] The following is a detailed explanation using the aforementioned four colors (K, C, M, Y), each with two interpolation points, three columns of physical channels in the width direction, 800 nozzles in each column of physical channels, and a printing resolution of 300 DPI in the width direction as an example:

[0104] First, separate the splicing channel. The length of the printed ribbon is 500 pixels, and the margin is 100 pixels. Therefore, the final printed image length is (500 + 100) * 4 * 2 - 100 = 4700 pixels. To facilitate sensor detection, the last 100 pixels of margin are not included in the image width.

[0105] First calculate the overlapping nozzles of the K0 splicing channel; the same applies to other channels. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the first 500-pixel long image is channel K0. K0 has 3 physical channels, each as follows: channel K00 is 0mm from the origin, channel K01 is 50.8mm, and channel K02 is 111.6mm. Converting the distance to pixels using the formula:

[0106] The conversion formula is: px = L / 25.4 * c, where px is the number of pixels in the width direction of the first test sample image, L is the distance in the width direction of the first test sample image, and c is the precision in the printing width direction, with L in mm.

[0107] Based on the above formula, A is 0 pixels from the origin, B is 600 pixels from the origin, and C is 1200 pixels from the origin. These parameters are set from the beginning. The width of the printed image is 1500 pixels, which is also known before printing.

[0108] like Figure 5 As shown, given the image has 1500 pixels, the first overlap is located at distances of 6 / 15 * D1 and 8 / 15 * D1 from the origin of the width, indicating a overlap of 600-800 pixels. The second overlap is located at distances of 12 / 15 * D1 and 14 / 15 * D1 from the origin of the width, indicating a overlap of 1200-1400 pixels. The physical channel overlap corresponding to K0 is that the lower end of channel K00 overlaps with the upper end of channel K01 by 200 pixels, and the lower end of channel K01 overlaps with the upper end of channel K02 by 200 pixels. Therefore, control the lower part of channels K00 and K01 to close 100 nozzles, and the upper part of channels K01 and K02 to close 100 nozzles. The same applies to other splicing channels. When printing the next image, the offset will automatically adjust back, thus automatically adjusting the number of nozzles closed during printing.

[0109] Example 3

[0110] In actual image printing, the splicing channels may experience partial ink failure due to various reasons, such as overlap damage or blocked overlapping nozzles, making manual adjustment difficult. This embodiment addresses this problem by further improving upon the previous embodiment by detecting nozzles in overlapping areas that are not printing and automatically generating a nozzle switching mechanism. Specifically:

[0111] like Figure 6 As shown, before S41, it also includes:

[0112] S401: The second test sample image is obtained by printing different areas of the printing medium using different physical channels in the splicing channel, with one physical channel corresponding to one area;

[0113] S402: Detect the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the second test sample image;

[0114] S403: Determine the location of abnormal nozzles in each physical channel based on the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the second test sample image;

[0115] S41: Determining the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area further includes:

[0116] S411: Determine the positions of abnormal and normal nozzles in each physical channel within the overlapping area based on the positions of the abnormal nozzles in the overlapping area and the positions of the abnormal nozzles in each physical channel.

[0117] S412: Determine the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the positions of abnormal nozzles and normal nozzles in each physical channel in the overlapping area.

[0118] This embodiment detects abnormal nozzles in each object channel by printing a second test pattern and then using a sensor to detect the second test pattern. Since the ink dots printed in the overlapping areas of the physical channels in the same splicing channel will overlap, when detecting the location of abnormal nozzles, each physical channel is printed in different areas of the printing medium to separate the printed patterns of each object channel.

[0119] In step S412, which determines the number and location of nozzles to be closed when printing an image based on the positions of abnormal nozzles and normal nozzles in each physical channel within the overlapping area, abnormal nozzles located in the overlapping area are closed, while normal nozzles in the overlapping area that coincide with the positions of the abnormal nozzles are open. In this embodiment, once the positions of abnormal nozzles in each physical channel are detected, other normal nozzles in the same position can be used to replace the abnormal nozzles for ink output.

[0120] For example, K0 has 3 physical channels, each as follows: channel K00 is 0mm from the width origin, channel K01 is 50.8mm, and channel K02 is 111.6mm. Convert the distance to pixels using the formula:

[0121] The calculations show that A is 0 pixels from the origin, B is 600 pixels from the origin, and C is 1200 pixels from the origin; these parameters are set from the beginning. The printed image width is 1500 pixels. The first overlap is between 600 and 800 pixels; the second overlap is between 1200 and 1400 pixels. If holes 101 and 150 in the upper part of channel K02 are damaged, there will be a 50-pixel wide abnormality after automatic adjustment. For cases with abnormalities, it is necessary to locate the abnormal holes; therefore, the second test image consists of two sub-second test images, as follows... Figure 7 As shown, the first batch of ink, K00 and K02, is being produced; as... Figure 8 As shown, the second K01 ink was dispensed. The image of the first sample of the second test sample detected by the sensor is as follows. Figure 9 As shown, the location and width of the blank area in the figure indicate that the abnormal hole is located 1300-1350 pixels away from the origin of the width. Therefore, the last calculated closed nozzles are the 1st to 50th nozzles in the lower part of K01 and the 1st to 150th nozzles in the upper part of K02.

[0122] Example 4

[0123] In actual printing, very fine lines or overlaps may appear at the channel splicing points, especially when the splicing is located between printheads. This phenomenon cannot be eliminated even by adjusting the number of nozzle switches, thus becoming a long-standing technical problem that has been difficult for our technicians to solve.

[0124] like Figure 10 As shown, in this embodiment, S41: determining the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the overlapping area further includes:

[0125] S411: Send print configuration parameters for the print job to the big data center;

[0126] S412: Receive nozzle opening / closing status data sent by the big data center according to the printing configuration parameters of the printing task;

[0127] S413: Determine the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed based on the overlapping area and the nozzle opening / closing status data.

[0128] To address this, a relevant database can be established in the big data center. This database stores the final selected nozzle-closing scheme and the printing configuration using that scheme, uploaded to the big data center each time a print job is performed.

[0129] The database contains the final selected nozzle-closing scheme and the print configuration using that scheme, which are uploaded to the big data center each time a print job is performed.

[0130] The next time a solution is selected, the big data center filters nozzle closure solutions based on configuration similarity and ranks them by preference or priority. Finally, the solution is sent to the printer. After printing according to the selected solution, the printer sends the final selected solution and print configuration back to the big data center. Through extensive data collection and processing, the matching degree between nozzle closure solutions and print configurations in the database becomes increasingly higher, enabling the nozzle closure solutions sent by the big data center to the printer to better eliminate very small fine lines or overlaps at channel joints.

[0131] The printing configuration includes the properties of the ink, such as whether it is water-based or oil-based, and can also include printing DPI and other printing settings.

[0132] As shown in the figure Figure 11 , Figure 12 , Figure 13 As shown, the nozzle shut-off scheme may include, but is not limited to, the following schemes: Figure 11 , Figure 12 , Figure 13 Solid circles represent ink-emitting nozzles, while hollow circles represent ink-non-emitting nozzles.

[0133] The diaphragm is closed (e.g.) Figure 11 As shown), in two adjacent physical channels with overlapping relationships, each physical channel closes one nozzle every other nozzle, and the nozzles closed by the two physical channels are staggered by one nozzle position.

[0134] Multiple holes closed at intervals (e.g.) Figure 12 As shown in the figure, in two adjacent physical channels with overlapping relationship, each physical channel closes n nozzles every n nozzles, and the nozzles closed by the two physical channels are staggered by n nozzle positions.

[0135] Interleaved closure at endpoints (e.g.) Figure 13 As shown in the figure, the nozzles of two adjacent physical channels with an overlapping relationship are alternately closed only at the end of the physical channel.

[0136] Example 5

[0137] Please see Figure 14 This invention provides an inkjet printing apparatus based on splicing channels, the apparatus comprising:

[0138] The first test sample printing module is used to print the first test sample on the printing medium using the splicing channel;

[0139] The first test sample image ink volume detection module is used to detect the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the first test sample image.

[0140] An overlapping area determination module is used to determine the overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel based on the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink volume of each specified area of ​​the test pattern.

[0141] A printing control module is used to control the on / off state of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image to be printed, based on the overlapping area.

[0142] The inkjet printing device also includes:

[0143] The first test sample printing module is used to print the second test sample in different areas of the printing medium using different physical channels in the splicing channel, where one physical channel corresponds to one area.

[0144] The second test sample image detection module is used to detect the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the second test sample image.

[0145] An abnormal nozzle location determination module is used to detect the ink volume in each specified area of ​​the second test sample image to determine the location of abnormal nozzles in each physical channel.

[0146] The printing control module also includes:

[0147] The normal and abnormal nozzle position determination submodule is used to determine the position of the abnormal nozzle and the normal nozzle in each physical channel in the overlapping area based on the position of the abnormal nozzle in each physical channel.

[0148] The nozzle closure quantity and location determination submodule is used to determine the number and location of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image based on the location of abnormal nozzles and normal nozzles in each physical channel in the overlapping area.

[0149] Example 6

[0150] In addition, combined Figure 1 The inkjet printing method based on splicing channels described in this embodiment of the invention can be implemented by an inkjet printing device based on splicing channels. Figure 15 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an inkjet printing device based on splicing channels provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0151] An inkjet printing device based on splicing channels may include a processor 401 and a memory 402 storing computer program instructions.

[0152] Specifically, the processor 401 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.

[0153] Memory 402 may include mass storage for data or instructions. For example, and not limitingly, memory 402 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, flash memory, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, magnetic tape, or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, memory 402 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media. Where appropriate, memory 402 may be internal or external to a data processing device. In a particular embodiment, memory 402 is a non-volatile solid-state memory. In a particular embodiment, memory 402 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.

[0154] The processor 401 reads and executes computer program instructions stored in the memory 402 to implement any of the data addressing methods for random area printing in the above embodiments.

[0155] In one example, the inkjet printing device based on splicing channels may also include a communication interface 403 and a bus 410. For example, Figure 6 As shown, the processor 401, memory 402, and communication interface 403 are connected through bus 410 and complete communication with each other.

[0156] The communication interface 403 is mainly used to realize communication between various modules, devices, units and / or equipment in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0157] Bus 410 includes hardware, software, or both, that couples components used for fractional ink volume output together. For example, and not limitingly, the bus 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 410 may include one or more buses. While specific buses are described and illustrated in embodiments of the invention, the invention contemplates any suitable bus or interconnect.

[0158] Example 7

[0159] Furthermore, in conjunction with the inkjet printing method based on splicing channels in the above embodiments, this invention can be implemented using a computer-readable storage medium. This computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions; when these computer program instructions are executed by a processor, they implement any of the inkjet printing methods based on splicing channels in the above embodiments.

[0160] The above is a detailed description of the inkjet printing method, apparatus, equipment, and storage medium based on splicing channels provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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.

[0164] 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. Inkjet printing method for eliminating a splicing channel, characterized in that, The splicing channel comprises at least two physical channels for splicing, and there is an overlapping area between the at least two physical channels, and the method comprises the following steps: controlling the splicing channel to print a first test pattern on the printing medium; and printing the first test pattern on different areas of the printing medium by using different splicing channels, wherein one splicing channel corresponds to one area; detecting the ink amount of each specified area of the first test pattern; determining the overlapping area between each physical channel in the splicing channel according to the printing parameters of the printed image and the ink amount of each specified area of the first test pattern; controlling the opening and closing states of the nozzles of each physical channel in the splicing channel when printing the to-be-printed image according to the overlapping area, comprising: determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the to-be-printed image according to the overlapping area, and closing the corresponding nozzles when printing the to-be-printed image according to the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed; The control of the splicing channel to print a first test pattern on the printing medium comprises: splitting the logical channel for printing into a plurality of splicing channels with single color and / or single dot according to the color channel and / or dot parameters of the to-be-printed image; printing a first test pattern according to the splicing channels obtained by splitting, wherein the first test pattern comprises a plurality of sub-test patterns, each of which is printed by the corresponding splicing channel, and the printing comprises calculating an increased offset according to the color sequence number, the dot sequence number, the number of pixels of the sub-test pattern color band, the number of blank pixels and the number of dots corresponding to each splicing channel, and printing each splicing channel after increasing the offset on the basis of the original offset according to the increased offset.

2. The method of inkjet printing without a splicing path according to claim 1, characterized by, The determination of the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the to-be-printed image according to the overlapping area comprises: obtaining the total number of pixels in a fixed direction of the to-be-printed image; detecting the width of the first test pattern and the width of the ink dot overlapping area or the width of the blank area in the first test pattern; calculating the number of overlapping nozzles or the number of blank nozzles; determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed according to the number of overlapping nozzles or the number of blank nozzles.

3. The method of inkjet printing without a splicing lane according to claim 2, characterized in that, Before the determination of the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the to-be-printed image according to the overlapping area, the method further comprises: controlling different physical channels in the splicing channel to print a second test pattern on different areas of the printing medium, wherein one physical channel corresponds to one area; detecting the ink amount of each specified area of the second test pattern; determining the position of the abnormal nozzle of each physical channel according to the ink amount of each specified area of the second test pattern; The determination of the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the to-be-printed image according to the overlapping area further comprises: determining the position of the abnormal nozzle and the position of the normal nozzle of each physical channel in the overlapping area according to the overlapping area and the position of the abnormal nozzle of each physical channel; determining the number and position of nozzles that need to be closed when printing the to-be-printed image according to the position of the abnormal nozzle and the position of the normal nozzle of each physical channel in the overlapping area.

4. The method of inkjet printing without a splicing lane according to claim 3, characterized in that, In determining the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed according to the position of the abnormal nozzles and the position of the normal nozzles in each physical channel in the overlapping area, the abnormal nozzles in the overlapping area are in the closed state, and the normal nozzles in the overlapping area that coincide with the position of the abnormal nozzles are in the open state.

5. The method of inkjet printing without a splicing path according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method for determining the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed according to the overlapping area further comprises: sending the printing configuration parameters of the printing task to a big data center, wherein the big data center establishes a database, and the database stores the finally selected nozzle closing scheme uploaded to the big data center each time the printing is performed and the printing configuration adopting the scheme; receiving the nozzle opening and closing state data sent by the big data center according to the printing configuration parameters of the printing task; determining the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed according to the overlapping area and the nozzle opening and closing state data.

6. The method of inkjet printing without a splicing lane according to claim 5, wherein A continuous insertion point serial number is set for each color insertion point according to the number of insertion points, wherein the color serial number and the insertion point serial number are both positive integers greater than or equal to 0.

7. Inkjet printing apparatus eliminating the splicing channel, characterized in that, It comprises: a first test pattern printing module, which is used to control the spliced channels to print a first test pattern on a printing medium; the first test pattern is printed on different regions of the printing medium by using different spliced channels, wherein one spliced channel corresponds to one region; a first test pattern ink amount detection module, which is used to detect the ink amount of each specified region of the first test pattern; an overlapping area determination module, which is used to determine the overlapping area between each physical channel in the spliced channels according to the printing parameters of the image to be printed and the ink amount of each specified region of the first test pattern; a printing control module, which is used to control the opening and closing states of the nozzles of each physical channel when printing the image to be printed according to the overlapping area, comprising: determining the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed when printing the image to be printed according to the overlapping area, and closing the corresponding nozzles when printing the image to be printed according to the number and position of the nozzles that need to be closed; the control of the spliced channels to print the first test pattern on the printing medium comprises: splitting the logical channels for printing into a plurality of spliced channels with single color and / or single insertion point according to the color channels and / or insertion point parameters of the image to be printed; printing the first test pattern according to the spliced channels obtained by splitting, wherein the first test pattern comprises a plurality of sub test patterns, each of which is printed by the corresponding spliced channel, and the printing of each spliced channel comprises calculating an increased offset according to the color serial number, the insertion point serial number, the pixel number of the sub test pattern color band, the number of blank pixels and the number of insertion points corresponding to each spliced channel, and printing each spliced channel after increasing the offset on the basis of the original offset according to the increased offset.

8. Inkjet printing apparatus to eliminate the splicing channel, characterized in that, The device comprises at least one processor, at least one memory and computer program instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor, the method according to any one of claims 1-6 is realized.

9. A storage medium having stored thereon computer program instructions, characterized in that, The computer program product comprises computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1-6. The computer program product comprises computer program instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1-6.

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