Thermal printing method and apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device

Abstract

The application discloses a heat-sensitive printing method and device, a storage medium and an electronic device. The method comprises the following steps: obtaining first dot array data to be printed, wherein the first dot array data is dot array data to be printed in a first developing row of a printing medium; and controlling a heat-sensitive printing component of a printing device to heat each first developing point in the first developing row at least twice according to the first dot array data, so as to print the first developing row, wherein the heating ranges of different times of heating on each first developing point partially overlap. Through the application, the problem of poor heat-sensitive printing effect caused by the inability to accurately control the interval relationship between adjacent developing points in the heat-sensitive printing method of the related art is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of thermal printing applications, and more specifically, to a thermal printing method and apparatus, a storage medium, and an electronic device. Background Technology

[0002] The images and text in thermal printing are composed of multiple developing dots. Therefore, the shape, size, density, gap distance between each developing dot and its neighboring dots, as well as their arrangement, all affect the final imaging effect.

[0003] The thermal printing method in related technologies suffers from poor printing quality because it cannot accurately control the printing effect of each developing dot and cannot properly handle the gap relationship between adjacent developing dots. Therefore, it is evident that the thermal printing method in related technologies suffers from poor printing quality due to the inability to accurately control the interval relationship between adjacent developing dots. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a thermal printing method, apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device to at least solve the problem of poor thermal printing effect caused by the inability to accurately control the spacing between adjacent developing points in related technologies.

[0005] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a thermal printing method is provided, comprising: acquiring first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is dot matrix data in a first developing row to be printed onto a printing medium; and controlling a thermal printing component of a printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice according to the first dot matrix data, so as to print the first developing row, wherein the heating range of different heatings on each first developing dot partially overlaps.

[0006] As an optional approach, controlling the thermal printing component of the printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice according to the first dot matrix data includes: controlling the thermal printing component to first heat a first portion of each first developing dot according to the first dot matrix data; and controlling the thermal printing component to then heat a second portion of each first developing dot according to the first dot matrix data; wherein the first portion and the second portion of each first developing dot partially overlap.

[0007] As an optional approach, before controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat the first portion of each first developing point, the method further includes: aligning the heating point of the thermal printing assembly with the first position of the first developing line via a motor and a transmission structure on the printing equipment, wherein the first position of the first developing line corresponds to the first portion of the first developing line.

[0008] As an optional solution, after the thermal printing assembly heats the first portion of each first developing point, the method further includes: aligning the heating point of the thermal printing assembly with the second position of the first developing row via the motor and the transmission structure, wherein the second position of the first developing row corresponds to the second portion of the first developing row; wherein the line connecting the core point of the first portion of each first developing point and the core point of the second portion of each first developing point is located in the middle of the developing column where each first developing point is located and is parallel to the developing column where the first developing point is located.

[0009] As an optional approach, after the thermal printing component of the control printing device heats each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice, the method further includes: acquiring second dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the second dot matrix data is dot matrix data to be printed into the second developing row of the printing medium, and the second developing row is the next developing row adjacent to the first developing row; if there is a third developing row adjacent to the second developing row, and the third developing row is the developing row to be printed, controlling the thermal printing component to heat each second developing dot in the second developing row once according to the second dot matrix data, so as to print the second developing row.

[0010] As an optional approach, after controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat each second developing dot in the second developing row once, the method further includes: acquiring third dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the third dot matrix data is dot matrix data in the third developing row to be printed onto the printing medium; and controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat each third developing dot in the third developing row at least twice according to the third dot matrix data, so as to print the third developing row.

[0011] As an optional approach, after acquiring the second dot matrix data to be printed, the method further includes: determining whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the second developing line based on the identifier value of the adjacent developing line identifier, and determining whether the next developing line adjacent to the second developing line is a developing line to be printed based on the identifier value of the printable identifier, wherein the adjacent developing line identifier and the printable identifier are acquired together with the second dot matrix data, the adjacent developing line identifier is used to identify whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the current developing line, and the printable identifier is used to identify whether the next developing line adjacent to the current developing line is a developing line to be printed.

[0012] As an optional solution, the thermal printing component is a thermal printer, and the thermal printing component is a thermal sheet.

[0013] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a thermal printing apparatus is also provided, comprising: a first acquisition unit, configured to acquire first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is dot matrix data in a first developing row to be printed onto a printing medium; and a heating unit, configured to control the thermal printing component of the printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice according to the first dot matrix data, so as to print the first developing row, wherein the heating range of different heatings on each first developing dot partially overlaps.

[0014] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, wherein a computer program is stored in the computer program, which is configured to execute the above-described thermal printing method when running.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, an electronic device is also provided, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the above-described thermal printing method through the computer program.

[0016] According to yet another embodiment of this application, a computer program product is also provided, comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps in any of the above method embodiments.

[0017] In this embodiment, by printing the same developing line at least twice, the first dot matrix data within the first developing line to be printed onto the printing medium is obtained. The thermal printing component of the printing device is controlled to heat each first developing point in the first developing line at least twice according to the first dot matrix data, with the heating ranges of different heating cycles partially overlapping, to print the first developing line. Thus, each developing point in each developing line contains two core points with higher developing concentration, and the area around the two core points with decreasing concentration is also deepened due to at least two repeated heating cycles. This results in a more uniform concentration distribution of the individual developing points in the thermal print, leading to a fuller developing effect and improving the developing effect. This solves the problem of poor thermal printing results caused by the inability to accurately control the interval between adjacent developing points in related technologies. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application.

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware environment for an optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of another optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another optional thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 8 This is a structural block diagram of an optional thermal printing apparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 9 This is a structural block diagram of a computer system for an optional electronic device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0029] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0030] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0031] According to one aspect of an embodiment of this application, a thermal printing method is provided. This thermal printing method can be applied to, for example... Figure 1 The hardware environment shown consists of terminal device 102 and thermal printing device 104. Figure 1 As shown, the thermal printing device 104 is connected to the terminal device 102 via a network. The terminal device 102 can transmit the content to be printed to the thermal printing device 104, and can also transmit the parameter information of the set printing parameters to the thermal printing device 104. The thermal printing device 104 can transmit the printing result to the terminal device 102.

[0032] The aforementioned network may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: wired network, wireless network. The aforementioned wired network may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: wide area network, metropolitan area network, local area network. The aforementioned wireless network may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth. The terminal device 102 may not be limited to PCs, mobile phones, tablets, smart home devices, etc.

[0033] Optionally, the thermal printing method of this application embodiment can be executed by the thermal printing device 104, by the terminal device 102, or by both the thermal printing device 104 and the terminal device 102. The terminal device 102 can also execute the thermal printing method of this application embodiment by a client (printing software or a printing app, etc.) installed on it.

[0034] Taking the thermal printing method of this embodiment as an example, which is executed by thermal printing device 104, Figure 2 This is a schematic flowchart of a thermal printing method according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the process may include the following steps:

[0035] Step S202: Obtain the first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the first developing row of the printing medium to be printed.

[0036] The thermal printing method provided in this embodiment can be used in scenarios where thermal printing equipment is controlled to perform thermal printing. The working principle of a thermal printing equipment is as follows: the thermal printing component causes the thermal coating on the printing medium to change color and leave a mark at a specific location through temperature conduction, thus enabling development and printing. Here, the thermal printing equipment can be a thermal printer, the thermal printing component can be a thermal sheet, and the printing medium can be thermal paper. The thermal sheet can be used by the thermal printer to print on thermal paper. Due to limitations in material properties and other factors, the development effect of many thermal printing devices needs further improvement to meet more refined usage requirements.

[0037] In the control method of thermal printing, the content to be printed is broken down into multiple rows of dot matrix data and transmitted to the thermal printing component line by line for heating. After the heat transfer and image printing of one row is completed, the motor controls the transmission structure to change the relative position between the heating resistor on the thermal printing component and the printing medium, and then the next row of heating points is developed. This process is repeated in a loop to complete the printing and development of the entire graphic content.

[0038] Because the images and text printed by thermal printing are composed of multiple developing dots, the shape, size, density, spacing, and arrangement of each developing dot all affect the final image quality. Currently, thermal printing equipment cannot accurately control the printing effect of each developing dot, and therefore cannot properly handle the spacing between adjacent developing dots, resulting in poor thermal printing results.

[0039] For example, in actual operation, the heating resistor corresponding to a single developing point in a row can be square. However, during printing, the temperature distribution on the resistor surface is uneven, with the highest temperature in the central area and gradually decreasing towards the periphery. Therefore, the developing points printed on the paper through heat transfer-induced color change of the printing filament also exhibit a pattern of high density in the central area and decreasing density in the peripheral area. (See [reference]). Figure 3 .

[0040] Meanwhile, due to the reduced development density in the area surrounding each heating point, the development between adjacent developing points in adjacent rows and columns is incomplete, resulting in larger gaps. This further leads to undesirable visual effects such as horizontal and vertical stripes. (See [link to documentation]). Figure 4 The three rows and three columns of black blocks shown are developed.

[0041] To address the aforementioned issues, various solutions have been proposed in related technologies, including but not limited to: replacing the thermal printing components with high-precision ones and developing complex thermal history algorithms. However, since poor development of printed dots is due to the characteristics of the thermal printing components and the printing media, even increasing the precision of the thermal printing components and the complexity of the thermal history algorithm has limited effect on improving the development effect.

[0042] To at least partially address the aforementioned issues, this embodiment improves operational control by optimizing factors such as the edge shape, image density, texture size, and spacing of each developing point, thereby optimizing the thermal printing effect and effectively resolving the problem of poor development. Specifically, each developing point undergoes at least two heating cycles, with the heating ranges of different cycles partially overlapping. This ensures that each developing point contains two core points with high developing density, and the areas around these two core points where density decreases are also deepened due to the repeated heating. This results in a more uniform density distribution among individual developing points in thermal printing, leading to a fuller developing effect and achieving the technical effect of improved developing performance.

[0043] In existing printer solutions, the materials and structural designs used within the machine are fixed. The most critical characteristics, such as the resistivity, density, and temperature transfer efficiency of the thermal materials, are immutable. This embodiment optimizes the software control algorithm, ensuring compatibility with existing physical printing equipment (i.e., the existing hardware), thereby improving the compatibility of the thermal printing solution.

[0044] In this embodiment, the thermal printing device can acquire first dot matrix data to be printed. The first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data to be printed onto the first developing row of the printing medium. The printing medium can be the aforementioned thermal paper. The first developing row can be any number of developing rows, and the developing dots in the first developing row are first developing dots, the number of which can be at least one. The first dot matrix data can be acquired from a terminal device, or it can be read from a designated storage space and transmitted to the thermal printing component by the control unit of the thermal printing device, or other acquisition methods. This embodiment does not limit this method.

[0045] Step S204: According to the first dot matrix data, control the thermal printing component of the printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice in order to print the first developing row.

[0046] After acquiring the first dot matrix data, the thermal printing device can control its thermal printing components (e.g., thermal film) to print each developing dot. Here, the printing of each developing dot can be done by heating each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice (i.e., each developing dot has two corresponding core points), with the heating ranges of different heatings partially overlapping (i.e., the two core points corresponding to each developing dot do not overlap).

[0047] Optionally, heating each first developing point in the first developing row at least twice can be done by first heating a first portion of each first developing point, and then heating a second portion of each first developing point.

[0048] Optionally, heating the developing dots in the first developing row at least twice can be achieved by first heating the first portion of all developing dots in the first developing row, and then heating the second portion of all developing dots in the first developing row; or, printing the first developing row in multiple segments, first heating the first portion of each segment sequentially, and then heating the second portion of each segment sequentially, that is, printing the first portion of the first segment first, then the first portion of the second segment, and so on, until the first portions of all segments are printed; then printing the second portions of the first segment, then the second portions of the second segment, and so on, until the second portions of all segments are printed. Here, considering that the current carried by the printing component should not be too large, printing the developing row in segments can reduce the current carried by the printing component and improve the service life of the printing component.

[0049] For example, such as Figure 5 As shown, a developing line is divided into three segments. When printing the first developing line, it can be done according to... Figure 5 The order shown is as follows: print the first part of the first paragraph, the first part of the second paragraph, the first part of the third paragraph, the second part of the first paragraph, the second part of the second paragraph, and the second part of the third paragraph in sequence.

[0050] After each developing dot in the first developing row has been heated at least twice, the next developing row is heated in the same way, and so on, until all printing jobs are completed.

[0051] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, by adjusting the software controls, the thermal printing method is simple, convenient, universally applicable, and low-cost. It solves the problem of poor image quality from the fundamental principle of thermal printing, providing technical support for low-cost, high-quality printing. Furthermore, since it requires no additional hardware costs, it possesses strong versatility. The software logic implementation is extremely simple, and it fundamentally solves the problem of poor image development, resulting in good optimization and high cost-effectiveness.

[0052] Through the above steps, the first dot matrix data to be printed is obtained, wherein the first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the first developing row to be printed onto the printing medium; according to the first dot matrix data, the thermal printing component of the printing device is controlled to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice to print the first developing row, wherein the heating range of different heatings on each first developing dot partially overlaps, which solves the problem of poor thermal printing effect caused by the inability to accurately control the interval relationship between adjacent developing dots in the thermal printing method of related technologies, and improves the thermal printing effect.

[0053] In one exemplary embodiment, according to the first dot matrix data, controlling the thermal printing assembly of the printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice includes:

[0054] S11, according to the first dot matrix data, control the thermal printing component to first heat the first portion of each first developing dot; and

[0055] S12, according to the first dot matrix data, control the thermal printing component to heat the second part of each first developing dot.

[0056] The heating of each developing point can be performed twice, where the first heating is performed on the first part of each developing point and the second heating is performed on the second part of each developing point. The first part and the second part of each developing point partially overlap. For example, the line connecting the core point of the first part and the core point of the second part of each developing point can be parallel to the row of the printing medium, parallel to the column of the printing medium, or in other ways.

[0057] For the first developing row, the thermal printing component can be controlled to heat the first part of each first developing dot according to the first dot matrix data; and the thermal printing component can be controlled to heat the second part of each first developing dot according to the first dot matrix data. Here, the first part of the first developing dot can be the upper half of the first developing row, and the second part of the second developing dot can be the lower half of the first developing row.

[0058] For example, each line is divided into an upper and lower half, so what should have been printed in one line is split into two print runs (both print one line at a time), and printed line by line, with the upper half immediately following the lower half without any gap. After the single-line dot matrix data is transmitted to the thermal film, each line of print data undergoes two heating processes: during the first heating, the heating points of the thermal film are aligned with the upper half of the developing line; after the first heating is completed, the heating points of the thermal film are aligned with the lower half of the developing line, and the same print data is used for heating again.

[0059] By analogy, when the same method is used for development and printing in each row, the gaps between the development dots in adjacent rows and columns are also reduced due to being covered. Although there will be an extra half-row of development above and below the actual printing area, this development redundancy will not affect the actual graphic effect because the actual height of each row is small.

[0060] For example, the developing effect of performing two heating cycles at a single heating point can be as follows: Figure 6As shown, the heating resistor of each developing point in the row to be heated is a square with a side length of a. The first heating is of the upper half of the developing points, and the second heating is of the lower half of the developing points. This improves the shape of the original single developing point from "O" shape to "8" shape. The development of each point is improved from the original dark in the middle and light around the edges to a uniform shade of light and dark throughout the point, making the concentration distribution in a single point more uniform and the developing effect more saturated.

[0061] In the actual printing process, after the single-line dot matrix data is transmitted to the thermal film, each line of print data undergoes two heating cycles. This ensures that each individual developing dot in each line contains two core points with higher developing density, and the areas around these two core points with decreasing density are also deepened by the repeated heating, resulting in a richer developing effect. The developing effect of a three-row, three-column wide black block is as follows: Figure 7 As shown.

[0062] Here, by changing the shape of the traces at each developing point, the developing concentration is increased point by point and the uniformity is adjusted. The characteristics of heat extension and diffusion are used to increase the coverage area of ​​the developing points and reduce the gap between the dots, thereby achieving the goal of optimizing the developing effect and eliminating the visual horizontal and vertical stripes.

[0063] This embodiment demonstrates how by heating the same developing point twice, each time heating a different part of that developing point, the efficiency of thermal printing can be improved while ensuring the thermal printing effect.

[0064] In one exemplary embodiment, before controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat a first portion of each first developing point, the method further includes:

[0065] S21, the heating point of the thermal printing component is aligned with the first position of the first developing line by means of the motor and transmission structure on the printing equipment.

[0066] In this embodiment, the printing device may include a motor and a transmission structure controlled by the motor. This transmission structure moves the heating point (which may be a thermal element) of the thermal printing assembly to a designated position. Correspondingly, before heating the first portion of each first developing point, the motor-controlled transmission structure can control the displacement of the printing medium (such as thermal paper). By adjusting the position of the printing medium, the heating position of the heating point of the thermal printing assembly is adjusted to align the heating point of the thermal printing assembly with the first position of the first developing line. During this process, the heating point of the thermal printing assembly may remain stationary. Here, the first position of the first developing line corresponds to the first portion of the first developing line.

[0067] For example, during the initial heating process, the corresponding thermistor on the thermal head can be controlled to heat up, thereby heating (i.e., developing) the upper half of the first developing line. Here, the upper half can be the position of 1 / 4 of the line, 1 / 3 of the line, or any other position in the upper half.

[0068] In this embodiment, by manipulating the motor and transmission mechanism, the heating point of the thermal printing component can be aligned with the position corresponding to the part to be heated, thereby improving the flexibility of thermal printing control.

[0069] In one exemplary embodiment, after controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat a first portion of each first developing point, the method further includes:

[0070] S31, through the motor and transmission structure, aligns the heating point of the thermal printing component with the second position of the first developing row.

[0071] Similar to the previous embodiments, the printing device may include a motor and a transmission structure controlled by the motor, through which the heating point of the thermal printing component can be moved to a designated position. Before heating the second portion of each first developing point, the displacement of the printing medium can be controlled by the motor-controlled transmission structure. By adjusting the position of the printing medium, the heating position of the heating point of the thermal printing component is adjusted to align the heating point of the thermal printing component with the second position of the first developing line. During this process, the heating point of the thermal printing component may remain stationary. Here, the second position of the first developing line corresponds to the second portion of the first developing line.

[0072] For example, after the initial heating is complete, a motor-controlled transmission structure moves the thermal paper while the thermal head remains stationary, aligning the heating point of the thermal sheet with the lower half of the developing line. Based on the received data, the control system controls the corresponding thermal elements on the thermal head to heat up, thus heating (developing) the lower half of the first developing line.

[0073] Optionally, the line connecting the core point of the first part of each first developing point and the core point of the second part of each first developing point is located in the middle of the developing column where each first developing point is located, and is parallel to the developing column where the first developing point is located. This ensures that the printing effect of each developing point is uniform.

[0074] In this embodiment, by manipulating the motor and transmission mechanism, the heating point of the thermal printing component can be aligned with the position corresponding to the part to be heated, which can improve the flexibility of thermal printing control; at the same time, the midpoint of the line connecting the core points of the two prints can ensure that the printing effect of the developing point is uniform.

[0075] In one exemplary embodiment, after controlling the thermal printing assembly of the printing device to heat each first developing point in the first developing row at least twice, the method further includes:

[0076] S41, Obtain the second dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the second dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the second developing row to be printed onto the printing medium, and the second developing row is the next developing row adjacent to the first developing row;

[0077] S42, if there is a third developing line adjacent to the second developing line and the third developing line is the developing line to be printed, the thermal printing component is controlled to heat each second developing dot in the second developing line once according to the second dot matrix data, so as to print the second developing line.

[0078] After printing the first developing line, if the first developing line is not the last developing line, the second dot matrix data to be printed can be obtained, that is, the dot matrix data in the second developing line to be printed onto the printing medium. The second developing line is the next developing line adjacent to the first developing line. For the second developing line, each second developing line can be printed in a manner similar to that in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0079] To improve printing efficiency, different printing methods can be used for adjacent developing lines. For example, if the developing point in the previous developing line of a developing line is heated at least twice, then each developing point in that developing line can be heated once; if the developing point in the previous developing line of a developing line is heated once, then each developing point in that developing line can be heated at least twice.

[0080] Correspondingly, in this embodiment, if there is a third developing line adjacent to the second developing line, and the third developing line is the developing line to be printed, the thermal printing component can be controlled to heat each second developing dot in the second developing line once according to the second dot matrix data to print the second developing line; if there is a third developing line adjacent to the second developing line, and the third developing line is not the developing line to be printed, the thermal printing component can be controlled to heat each second developing dot in the second developing line at least twice according to the second dot matrix data to print the second developing line.

[0081] This embodiment improves the efficiency of thermal printing by printing the developing points in adjacent developing rows using at least two heating methods and by printing using a single heating method.

[0082] In one exemplary embodiment, after controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat each second developing point in the second developing row once, the method further includes:

[0083] S51, Obtain the third dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the third dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the third developing row of the printing medium to be printed.

[0084] S52, according to the third dot matrix data, controls the thermal printing assembly to heat each third developing dot in the third developing row at least twice in order to print the third developing row.

[0085] In this embodiment, after printing each second developing dot in the second developing row, third dot matrix data to be printed can be obtained. The third dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the third developing row to be printed onto the printing medium. According to the third dot matrix data, the thermal printing component is controlled to heat each third developing dot in the third developing row at least twice to print the third developing row. The method of printing the third developing row is similar to that of printing the first developing row, and will not be described in detail here.

[0086] This embodiment improves the thermal printing effect by printing the developing points in adjacent developing rows using a single heating method or by printing using at least two heating methods.

[0087] In one exemplary embodiment, after acquiring the second dot matrix data to be printed, the above method further includes:

[0088] S61, based on the identifier value of the adjacent developing line identifier, determine whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the second developing line, and based on the identifier value of the printable identifier, determine whether the next developing line adjacent to the second developing line is a developing line to be printed.

[0089] In this embodiment, in addition to acquiring the dot matrix data to be printed, the adjacent developing line identifier and the printable identifier corresponding to the dot matrix data can also be acquired. Here, the adjacent developing line identifier is used to indicate whether there is an adjacent next developing line for the current developing line, and the printable identifier is used to indicate whether the next developing line adjacent to the current developing line is a developing line to be printed. Based on the adjacent developing line identifier and the printable identifier, it can be determined whether there is a next developing line and whether the next developing line needs to be printed.

[0090] While acquiring the second dot matrix data, the adjacent developing line identifier and the printable identifier sent along with the second dot matrix data can be extracted; and based on the identifier value of the adjacent developing line identifier, it can be determined whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the second developing line, and based on the identifier value of the printable identifier, it can be determined whether the next developing line adjacent to the second developing line is a developing line to be printed.

[0091] This embodiment improves the convenience of print control by determining whether there are adjacent developing lines and whether they need to be printed based on adjacent developing line identifiers and printable identifiers.

[0092] It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity, the foregoing method embodiments are all described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should understand that this application is not limited to the described order of actions, as some steps may be performed in other orders or simultaneously according to this application. Furthermore, those skilled in the art should also understand that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily essential to this application.

[0093] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods according to the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, or the parts that contribute to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes several instructions to cause a terminal device (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods of the various embodiments of this application.

[0094] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a thermal printing apparatus is also provided for implementing the thermal printing method provided in the above embodiments, the details of which will not be repeated hereafter. As used below, the term "module" can refer to a combination of software and / or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the apparatus described in the following embodiments is preferably implemented in software, hardware implementation, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

[0095] Figure 8 This is a structural block diagram of an optional thermal printing apparatus according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 8 As shown, the device includes:

[0096] The first acquisition unit 802 is used to acquire the first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the first developing row of the printing medium to be printed.

[0097] Heating unit 804 is used to control the thermal printing component of the printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice according to the first dot matrix data, so as to print the first developing row, wherein the heating range of different heatings on each first developing dot partially overlaps.

[0098] The above modules are used to obtain the first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the first developing row of the printing medium to be printed; according to the first dot matrix data, the thermal printing component of the printing device is controlled to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice to print the first developing row, wherein the heating range of different heating times on each first developing dot partially overlaps, which solves the problem of poor thermal printing effect caused by the inability to accurately control the interval relationship between adjacent developing dots in the thermal printing method of related technologies, and improves the thermal printing effect.

[0099] As an optional solution, the heating unit includes:

[0100] The first control module is used to control the thermal printing component to heat the first portion of each first developing dot according to the first dot matrix data; and

[0101] The second control module is used to control the thermal printing component to heat the second part of each first developing point according to the first dot matrix data; wherein the first part of each first developing point and the second part of each first developing point partially overlap.

[0102] As an optional solution, the above-mentioned device further includes:

[0103] The first alignment unit is used to align the heating point of the thermal printing component with the first position of the first developing line by means of a motor and a transmission structure on the printing equipment before the thermal printing component heats the first part of each first developing point. The first position of the first developing line corresponds to the first part of the first developing line.

[0104] As an optional solution, the above-mentioned device further includes:

[0105] The second alignment unit is used to align the heating point of the thermal printing component with the second position of the first developing row after the thermal printing component heats the first part of each first developing point through a motor and transmission structure. The second position of the first developing row corresponds to the second part of the first developing row. The line connecting the core point of the first part of each first developing point and the core point of the second part of each first developing point is located in the middle of the developing column where each first developing point is located and is parallel to the developing column where the first developing point is located.

[0106] As an optional solution, the above-mentioned device further includes:

[0107] The second acquisition unit is used to acquire second dot matrix data to be printed after the thermal printing component of the printing device heats each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice. The second dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the second developing row to be printed onto the printing medium, and the second developing row is the next developing row adjacent to the first developing row.

[0108] The first control unit is configured to, in the presence of a third developing line adjacent to the second developing line and the third developing line being the developing line to be printed, control the thermal printing assembly to heat each second developing dot in the second developing line once according to the second dot matrix data, so as to print the second developing line.

[0109] As an optional solution, the above-mentioned device further includes:

[0110] The third acquisition unit is used to acquire the third dot matrix data to be printed after controlling the thermal printing component to heat each second developing dot in the second developing row once, wherein the third dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the third developing row to be printed onto the printing medium.

[0111] The second control unit is used to control the thermal printing assembly to heat each third developing dot in the third developing row at least twice according to the third dot matrix data, so as to print the third developing row.

[0112] As an optional solution, the above-mentioned device further includes:

[0113] The judgment unit is used to determine whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the second developing line based on the identifier value of the adjacent developing line identifier, and to determine whether the next developing line adjacent to the second developing line is a developing line to be printed based on the identifier value of the printable identifier. The adjacent developing line identifier and the printable identifier are obtained together with the second dot matrix data. The adjacent developing line identifier is used to indicate whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the current developing line, and the printable identifier is used to indicate whether the next developing line adjacent to the current developing line is a developing line to be printed.

[0114] As an alternative, the aforementioned thermal printing component is a thermal printer, and the thermal printing component is a thermal sheet.

[0115] It should be noted that the above modules can be implemented by software or hardware. For the latter, they can be implemented in the following ways, but are not limited to: all the above modules are located in the same processor; or, the above modules are located in different processors in any combination.

[0116] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, the computer-readable storage medium including a stored program, wherein the program executes the steps in any of the above method embodiments when it is run.

[0117] In one exemplary embodiment, the aforementioned computer-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, various media capable of storing computer programs, such as a USB flash drive, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard disk, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0118] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, an electronic device is also provided, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program and the processor is configured to perform the steps of any of the above method embodiments through the computer program.

[0119] In one exemplary embodiment, the electronic device may further include a transmission device and an input / output device, wherein the transmission device is connected to the processor and the input / output device is connected to the processor.

[0120] Specific examples in this embodiment can be found in the examples described in the above embodiments and exemplary implementations, and will not be repeated here.

[0121] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product including a computer program / instructions comprising program code for performing the method shown in the flowchart. In such an embodiment, reference is made to... Figure 9 The computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via the communication section 909, and / or installed from the removable medium 911. When the computer program is executed by the central processing unit 901, it performs various functions provided in the embodiments of this application. The sequence numbers of the embodiments of this application above are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0122] Figure 9 A schematic block diagram of a computer system architecture for implementing embodiments of the present application is shown. Figure 9As shown, the computer system 900 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 901, which can perform various appropriate actions and processes based on programs stored in read-only memory (ROM) 902 or programs loaded from storage section 908 into random access memory (RAM). The RAM 903 also stores various programs and data required for system operation. The CPU 901, ROM 902, and RAM 903 are interconnected via a bus 904. An input / output interface 905 (I / O interface) is also connected to the bus 904.

[0123] The following components are connected to the input / output interface 905: an input section 906 including a keyboard, mouse, etc.; an output section 907 including a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., and speakers, etc.; a storage section 908 including a hard disk, etc.; and a communication section 909 including a network interface card such as a local area network card, modem, etc. The communication section 909 performs communication processing via a network such as the Internet. A drive 910 is also connected to the input / output interface 905 as needed. A removable medium 911, such as a disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, semiconductor memory, etc., is installed on the drive 910 as needed so that computer programs read from it can be installed into the storage section 908 as needed.

[0124] Specifically, according to embodiments of this application, the processes described in the various method flowcharts can be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of this application include a computer program product comprising a computer program carried on a computer-readable medium, the computer program containing program code for performing the methods shown in the flowcharts. In such embodiments, the computer program can be downloaded and installed from a network via communication section 909, and / or installed from removable medium 911. When the computer program is executed by central processing unit 901, it performs various functions defined in the system of this application.

[0125] It should be noted that, Figure 9 The computer system 900 of the electronic device shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of this application.

[0126] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the modules or steps of the embodiments of this application described above can be implemented using general-purpose computing devices. They can be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices. They can be implemented using computer-executable program code, and thus can be stored in a storage device for execution by a computing device. In some cases, the steps shown or described can be performed in a different order than those presented here, or they can be fabricated as separate integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps can be fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the embodiments of this application are not limited to any particular combination of hardware and software.

[0127] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the principles of the embodiments of this application should be included within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A thermal printing method, characterized in that, include: Obtain the first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the first developing row of the printing medium to be printed; According to the first dot matrix data, the thermal printing component of the printing device is controlled to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice in order to print the first developing row, wherein the heating range of different heatings on each first developing dot partially overlaps; The step of controlling the thermal printing component of the printing device to heat each first developing dot in the first developing row at least twice according to the first dot matrix data includes: According to the first dot matrix data, the thermal printing component is controlled to first heat the first portion of each first developing dot; and According to the first dot matrix data, the thermal printing component is controlled to heat the second part of each first developing dot. Wherein, the first portion of each first developing point and the second portion of each first developing point partially overlap; Wherein, the line connecting the core point of the first part of each first developing point and the core point of the second part of each first developing point is located in the middle of the developing column where each first developing point is located, and is parallel to the developing column where the first developing point is located.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat a first portion of each first developing point, the method further includes: The heating point of the thermal printing component is aligned with the first position of the first developing line by means of the motor and the transmission structure on the printing device, wherein the first position of the first developing line corresponds to the first part of the first developing line.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, After controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat a first portion of each first developing point, the method further includes: The heating point of the thermal printing component is aligned with the second position of the first developing line by the motor and the transmission structure, wherein the second position of the first developing line corresponds to the second part of the first developing line.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, After the thermal printing assembly of the controlled printing device heats each first developing point in the first developing row at least twice, the method further includes: Obtain the second dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the second dot matrix data is the dot matrix data to be printed into the second developing row of the printing medium, and the second developing row is the next developing row adjacent to the first developing row; In the case where there is a third developing line adjacent to the second developing line, and the third developing line is the developing line to be printed, the thermal printing component is controlled to heat each second developing dot in the second developing line once according to the second dot matrix data, so as to print the second developing line.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, After controlling the thermal printing assembly to heat each second developing point in the second developing row once, the method further includes: Obtain the third dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the third dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the third developing row of the printing medium to be printed; According to the third dot matrix data, the thermal printing component is controlled to heat each third developing dot in the third developing row at least twice in order to print the third developing row.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, After acquiring the second dot matrix data to be printed, the method further includes: Based on the identifier value of the adjacent developing line identifier, it is determined whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the second developing line, and based on the identifier value of the printable identifier, it is determined whether the next developing line adjacent to the second developing line is a developing line to be printed. The adjacent developing line identifier and the printable identifier are obtained together with the second dot matrix data. The adjacent developing line identifier is used to identify whether there is a next developing line adjacent to the current developing line, and the printable identifier is used to identify whether the next developing line adjacent to the current developing line is a developing line to be printed.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The thermal printing component is a thermal printer, and the thermal printing component is a thermal sheet.

8. A thermal printing device, characterized in that, include: The first acquisition unit is used to acquire the first dot matrix data to be printed, wherein the first dot matrix data is the dot matrix data in the first developing row of the printing medium to be printed. A heating unit is configured to control the thermal printing component of the printing device to heat each first developing point in the first developing line at least twice according to the first dot matrix data, so as to print the first developing line, wherein the heating range of different heatings on each first developing point partially overlaps. The control unit is configured to, according to the first dot matrix data, control the thermal printing assembly to first heat a first portion of each first developing dot; and according to the first dot matrix data, control the thermal printing assembly to then heat a second portion of each first developing dot. Wherein, the first portion of each first developing point and the second portion of each first developing point partially overlap; Wherein, the line connecting the core point of the first part of each first developing point and the core point of the second part of each first developing point is located in the middle of the developing column where each first developing point is located, and is parallel to the developing column where the first developing point is located.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes a stored program, wherein the program, when executed, performs the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, characterized in that, The memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 via the computer program.

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