Grayscale printing method and printing chip

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a gray-scale printing method and a printing chip, after heating pulses corresponding to pixel points in a row of a gray-scale image are obtained, at least part of the pixel points in the row are alternately heated based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixel points in the row, so that an instantaneous current demand is dispersed into a plurality of time slices, and the accuracy of the gray-scale image is improved. Therefore, the current demand of each time slice is reduced, the current can be kept within the safety range of the power supply and the circuit, and the problem of insufficient power supply is avoided. And alternate heating can help to uniformly distribute heat, and excessive heat is prevented from being generated at a certain moment, so that the risk of overheating of the printing head is reduced, the service life of the printing head is prolonged, and the printing quality is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of grayscale printing, and in particular to a grayscale printing method and a printing chip. Background Art

[0002] Currently, grayscale printing can be achieved through thermal printing, which is a printing technology that produces images or text through heat.

[0003] During the printing process, data of the same row of image data are generally printed simultaneously to increase the printing speed.

[0004] However, when a thermal printer heats multiple points in a row at the same time, since each heating element or pixel requires a certain amount of current to generate enough heat to change the color of the thermal paper, when multiple heating elements work at the same time, the total current demand will increase, resulting in insufficient power supply to the print head. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a grayscale printing method and a printing chip to solve the problem of insufficient power supply to the print head.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a grayscale printing method, comprising:

[0007] Obtaining a heating pulse corresponding to a pixel in a row of the grayscale image;

[0008] At least part of the pixels in a row are alternately heated based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in the row.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method further includes setting a plurality of heating time periods, and matching corresponding heating time periods for the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row.

[0010] In this embodiment, multiple heating time periods are set, and corresponding heating time periods are matched to the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row, so that during printing, each pixel in a row can be heated based on the heating time period matched to each pixel in a row, thereby improving the heating efficiency.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the alternately heating at least some of the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row includes:

[0012] At least some of the pixels in a row are alternately heated based on the matching heating time periods of the pixels in the row.

[0013] In this embodiment, at least part of the pixels in a row are heated alternately based on the pre-matched heating time periods of the pixels in a row, thereby improving the heating efficiency.

[0014] In a possible implementation, of two adjacent pixels, a heating time period of a previous pixel is different from a heating time period of a next pixel.

[0015] In this embodiment, among two adjacent pixel points, the heating time period of the previous pixel point is different from the heating time period of the next pixel point, so as to avoid excessive heat generated by adjacent pixel points at a certain moment, affecting each other and affecting the printing effect, while reducing the risk of overheating of the print head, extending the service life of the print head and improving the printing quality.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the setting of multiple heating time periods, matching corresponding heating time periods for pixels in a row based on heating pulses corresponding to pixels in a row, includes:

[0017] Set multiple heating time periods of the same length;

[0018] A corresponding number of heating time periods are matched to the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in the row.

[0019] In this implementation, a plurality of heating time periods of the same length are set, and a corresponding number of heating time periods can be matched to the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row, thereby simplifying the operation.

[0020] In a possible implementation, two adjacent pixel points match adjacent heating time periods, and if the heating time period matched by the next pixel point reaches the maximum heating time period among all heating time periods, the remaining heating pulse of the next pixel point matches the first heating time period among all heating time periods;

[0021] The last heating time period matched by the previous pixel is the largest heating time period among all heating time periods, and the first heating time period matched by the next pixel is the first heating time period among all heating time periods.

[0022] In this embodiment, the number of heating time periods can be determined according to the highest grayscale level of the grayscale image. In addition, two adjacent pixels match adjacent heating time periods. If the heating time period of the next pixel reaches the maximum number of heating time periods, the remaining heating pulse of the next pixel matches the initial heating time period, thereby ensuring that each pixel has a matching and continuous heating time period, and thus achieving heating of the grayscale value of the pixel.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the setting of multiple heating time periods, matching corresponding heating time periods for pixels in a row based on heating pulses corresponding to pixels in a row, includes:

[0024] Set multiple heating time periods of different durations;

[0025] The heating pulses based on the pixels in a row are matched to the corresponding pulse combinations for the pixels in a row, and the pulse combinations based on the pixels are matched to the corresponding heating time periods for the pixels.

[0026] In this embodiment, multiple heating time periods of different durations are set, and the heating pulses based on the pixels in a row are used to match the corresponding heating pulses for the pixels in a row. The pulse combinations of the pixels are used to match the corresponding heating time periods for the pixels. Different pulse combinations can be used to represent the grayscale of the image, which can reduce the number of transmission pulses and heating times and improve the printing speed.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the number of segments in the heating time period is greater than the highest grayscale level.

[0028] In this embodiment, the number of segments in the heating time period is greater than the maximum grayscale level, which reduces the number of pixels heated simultaneously and reduces power consumption requirements.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the number of segments of the heating time period is determined according to the highest grayscale level of the grayscale image.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the step of acquiring the grayscale level of each pixel in a row of the grayscale image and the heating pulse corresponding to the grayscale level of each pixel includes:

[0031] Obtaining the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image, dividing the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image by a preset value to obtain a grayscale image;

[0032] A heating pulse corresponding to the grayscale level of a pixel point in the grayscale image is obtained.

[0033] In this embodiment, after obtaining the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image, the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image are divided by a preset value to obtain a grayscale image, and then the heating pulses corresponding to the grayscale levels of the pixels in the grayscale image are obtained to increase the printing speed.

[0034] In a second aspect, the present application provides a printing chip for executing the above first aspect and / or various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including: a memory, a processor;

[0036] The memory stores computer-executable instructions;

[0037] The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor executes the above first aspect and / or various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they are used to implement the first aspect above and / or various possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the above first aspect and / or various possible implementation methods of the first aspect.

[0040] The grayscale printing method and printing chip provided in the embodiment of the present application obtain the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row of the grayscale image, and then alternately heat at least some of the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row, so that the instantaneous current demand is dispersed into multiple time segments, thereby reducing the current demand in each time segment, helping to keep the current within the safe range of the power supply and circuit, and avoiding the problem of insufficient power supply. In addition, alternating heating can help evenly distribute heat and avoid generating too much heat at a certain moment, thereby reducing the risk of overheating of the print head, helping to extend the service life of the print head and improve the printing quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0042] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a grayscale printing method provided in this application;

[0043] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of grayscale printing provided for this application;

[0044] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of another grayscale printing provided for this application;

[0045] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a grayscale printing method provided in this application;

[0046] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another grayscale printing method provided by the present application;

[0047] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another grayscale printing method provided by the present application;

[0048] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided in this application.

[0049] The above drawings have shown clear embodiments of the present application, which will be described in more detail later. These drawings and text descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way, but to illustrate the concept of the present application to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] Here, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, and examples thereof are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Instead, they are only examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application.

[0051] Grayscale printing is a printing technology that uses different shades of gray to show image details. Instead of using color ink, it produces different gray levels by adjusting the concentration of black ink or the density of dots. Grayscale printing can show the subtle details and layering of the image, and uses less ink or color, reducing printing costs. It is suitable for document printing, black and white photography, engineering drawings, medical imaging and other scenarios.

[0052] At present, grayscale printing can be achieved through thermal printing. During the printing process, the data of the same line of image data is generally printed simultaneously to increase the printing speed. However, when a thermal printer heats multiple points in a row at the same time, since each heating element or pixel requires a certain current to generate enough heat to make the thermal paper change color, when multiple heating elements work at the same time, the total current demand will increase, resulting in insufficient power supply to the print head.

[0053] To this end, the present application proposes a heating method for grayscale printing, in which at least part of the pixels in a row are alternately heated, and the instantaneous current demand is dispersed into multiple time segments, thereby reducing the current demand in each time segment, helping to keep the current within the safe range of the power supply and circuit, and avoiding the problem of insufficient power supply. In addition, alternating heating can help evenly distribute heat and avoid generating too much heat at a certain moment, thereby reducing the risk of overheating of the print head, helping to extend the service life of the print head and improve printing quality.

[0054] The technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above-mentioned technical problems are described in detail below with specific embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. The embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0055] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the heating method for grayscale printing provided in this application is shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include:

[0056] S101, obtaining heating pulses corresponding to pixels in a row of a grayscale image.

[0057] A grayscale image is an image composed of grays of different brightness levels. It has no color information and each pixel is represented by only one value to indicate its brightness. In a grayscale image, the grayscale level of a pixel refers to the position of the brightness value of the pixel within the entire possible range. It is a concept used to describe the brightness of each pixel in an image, representing different brightness levels from black to white. For example, a grayscale value of 0 represents pure white, 255 represents pure black, and intermediate values ​​represent different degrees of gray.

[0058] The number of gray levels depends directly on the range of gray values. For example, if the gray value can vary from 0 to 255, then there are 256 gray levels. More gray levels usually means higher image quality because it allows more delicate brightness changes and smoother tonal transitions. In general, gray values ​​are specific pixel brightness representations, while gray levels are descriptions of overall grayscale performance, and both play an important role in image processing.

[0059] In thermal printing technology, the control of heating pulses is the key to achieving these grayscale levels. Heating pulses refer to the electrical signals received by the heating elements of the print head during the printing process. These pulses control the opening and closing of the heating elements, thereby determining the color rendering of each dot on the thermal paper. Through precise control of heating pulses, thermal printers can achieve different grayscale levels during the printing process, thereby improving the expressiveness and detail richness of the image.

[0060] In some examples, there are multiple heating pulses with the same pulse width, and the corresponding grayscale level is achieved by the number of heating pulses, such as Figure 2 As shown, the higher the gray level, the more the number of heating pulses, and the lower the gray level, the fewer the number of heating pulses;

[0061] In other examples, there are multiple heating pulses with different pulse widths, and heating corresponding to the gray level is achieved by combining the heating pulses, such as Figure 3 As shown, multiple heating pulses with different pulse widths may include eight pulses: T1, T2, T4, T8, T16, T32, T64, and T128. T1=T, T2=2T, T4=4T, T8=8T, T16=16T, T32=32T, T64=64T, and T128=128T. These eight pulses represent gray levels of 0-255.

[0062] In some embodiments, after obtaining the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image, the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image are divided by a preset value to obtain a grayscale image, and then the heating pulses corresponding to the grayscale levels of the pixels in the grayscale image are obtained to increase the printing speed.

[0063] For example, considering that the cost of thermal paper that can achieve high resolution is relatively high, and processing high grayscale levels also puts a lot of pressure on the processor, when high-resolution grayscale printing is not required, the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image are divided by the same value. For example, the 256-level original image data is divided by 4, and the resulting grayscale level is 256 / 4=64-level grayscale image.

[0064] S102 , alternately heating at least some of the pixels in a row based on heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row.

[0065] Alternating heating of at least some of the pixels means that at least some of the pixels in a row are not activated at the same time, but are activated in batches and alternately. For example, if there are 100 pixels in a row that need to be heated, the printer may activate 50 of them at the first moment, and then activate the remaining 50 at the next moment. Through alternating heating, the instantaneous current demand is dispersed into multiple time segments, thereby reducing the current demand in each time segment, helping to keep the current within the safe range of the power supply and circuit, and avoiding the problem of insufficient power supply. And alternating heating can help distribute heat evenly and avoid generating too much heat at a certain moment, thereby reducing the risk of overheating of the print head, helping to extend the service life of the print head and improve print quality.

[0066] In some embodiments, multiple heating time periods are set, and corresponding heating time periods are matched for pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row, so that when printing, each pixel in a row can be heated based on the heating time period matched for each pixel in a row, thereby improving heating efficiency.

[0067] In some embodiments, at least some of the pixels in a row may be alternately heated based on the heating time periods matched by the pixels in a row to improve the heating efficiency. The heating time period corresponding to each pixel in a row is matched based on the heating pulses of each pixel in a row, and each pixel in a row is matched with a corresponding heating time period.

[0068] As an implementation method, in two adjacent pixel points, the heating time period of the previous pixel point is different from the heating time period of the next pixel point, so as to avoid excessive heat generated by adjacent pixel points at a certain moment, affecting each other and affecting the printing effect, while reducing the risk of overheating of the print head, extending the service life of the print head and improving the printing quality.

[0069] As an implementation method, multiple heating time periods of the same length are set, and then the corresponding number of heating time periods can be matched for the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row, simplifying the operation. For example, when the gray level is 3, heating is performed in 3 heating time periods by 3 pulses, and when the gray level is 5, heating is performed in 5 heating time periods by 5 pulses.

[0070] For example, two adjacent pixels match adjacent heating time periods. If the heating time period of the next pixel reaches the maximum number of heating time periods in all heating time periods, the remaining heating pulse of the next pixel matches the first heating time period in all heating time periods, thereby ensuring that each pixel has a matching and relatively continuous heating time period, thereby achieving heating of the grayscale value of the pixel. Among them, the last heating time period matched by the previous pixel is the largest heating time period in all heating time periods, and the first heating time period matched by the next pixel is the first heating time period in all heating time periods. For example, Figure 4 As shown, a row includes x+1 pixel points, which are respectively called the first point, the second point, ... the xth point and the x+1th point. The number of segments of the heating time period can be determined to be m, which are respectively called the 1st segment, the 2nd segment, the 3rd segment, ..., the m-1th segment and the mth segment. For example, if the highest grayscale level of the grayscale image is 255, the number of segments of the heating time period is determined to be 255.

[0071] If the grayscale level of the first point is 2 and the corresponding heating pulse is 2T, the corresponding heating time periods for the first point can be matched to the 1st and 2nd sections; if the grayscale level of the second point is 1 and the corresponding heating pulse is T, adjacent pixel points match adjacent heating time periods, and the corresponding heating time period for the second point is matched to the 3rd section, so that the heating time period of the second point is different from the heating time period of the first point, that is, the second point starts to be heated in the first section after the first point ends.

[0072] If the grayscale level of the xth point is 3, the corresponding heating pulse is 3T, and the corresponding heating time periods matched for the xth point are the m-1th segment, the mth segment and the 1st segment. The matched heating time period of the xth point reaches the maximum heating time period in all heating time periods, and the remaining heating pulse of the xth point matches the initial heating time period in all heating time periods, that is, matches the initial 1st segment. If the grayscale level of the xth point is 4, in addition to matching the m-segment and the mth segment for the xth point, the xth point can also be matched with the initial 1st segment and the 2nd segment, and the 1st segment is regarded as the next segment of the mth segment, so that the heating time period of the xth point and the heating time period of the x-1th point are separated, that is, the xth point starts to be heated in the first segment after the end of the x-1th point, and if all the m heating time periods have been selected once, they can start again from the 1st segment, so as to ensure that each pixel has a matching heating time period while ensuring that the pixel has a continuous heating time period.

[0073] If the grayscale level of the x+1th point is 1 and the corresponding heating pulse is T, the corresponding heating time period for the x+1th point can be matched to the second section, so that the heating time period of the x+1th point is separated from the heating time period of the xth point.

[0074] As an implementation method, the number of heating time segments is greater than the maximum grayscale level, which can further reduce the number of pixels heated at the same time and reduce power consumption requirements. For example, the number of heating time segments is set to twice the maximum grayscale level, the maximum grayscale level is 8, the number of heating segments is 16, and when the grayscale level of all pixels in a row is the highest, the heating situation is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the first point is heated in the first to eighth sections, the second point is heated in the ninth to sixteenth sections, the third point is heated in the first to eighth sections, and the fourth point is heated in the ninth to sixteenth sections.

[0075] It can be clearly seen that the number of pixels that need to be printed simultaneously in one line of printing will not exceed 1 / 2 of all the pixels in one line, thereby reducing the number of pixels that are heated simultaneously.

[0076] As another implementation method, multiple heating time periods of different durations are set, and the heating pulses of the pixels in a row are matched with corresponding heating pulses, and the pulse combinations of the pixels are matched with corresponding heating time periods. Different pulse combinations can be used to represent the grayscale of the image, which can reduce the number of transmission pulses and heating times, and improve the printing speed.

[0077] For example, pulses with different pulse times may include t, 2t, 4t, 8t, 16t, etc., and the grayscale level of each pixel in the grayscale image is achieved by multiple pulses with different heating times. Figure 6 As shown in the figure, when the gray level is 3, t+2t is selected; when the gray level is 5, t+4t is selected; when the gray level is 23, 2t+4t+16t is selected, and so on. K different pulses can be realized to express 0~2 k-1 Accordingly, the heating segment may include 2*k segments, so that the combination of different pulses can be calculated according to the grayscale value to avoid selecting the same heating time period for two adjacent pixel points.

[0078] The grayscale printing method provided in the embodiment of the present application alternately heats the pixels in a row, and the instantaneous current demand is dispersed into multiple time segments, thereby reducing the current demand in each time segment, helping to keep the current within the safe range of the power supply and circuit, and avoiding the problem of insufficient power supply. In addition, alternating heating can help evenly distribute heat and avoid generating too much heat at a certain moment, thereby reducing the risk of overheating of the print head, helping to extend the service life of the print head and improve the printing quality.

[0079] The embodiment of the present application also provides a printing chip for executing the above-mentioned grayscale printing method.

[0080] For example, the printing chip can be a microprocessor chip, which can be, for example, an MCU (MicroController Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processing), an MPU (MicroProcessor Unit), a micro CPU (Central Processing Unit), or the like, which can process digital signals, analog signals, or perform signal functions, instruction processing, and calculation functions, or a micro central control chip, a system-on-chip chip, or the like.

[0081] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided in this application. Figure 7 As shown, the electronic device 50 provided in this embodiment includes: at least one processor 501 and a memory 502. Optionally, the device 50 also includes a communication component 503. The processor 501, the memory 502 and the communication component 503 are connected via a bus 504.

[0082] In a specific implementation process, at least one processor 501 executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 502, so that at least one processor 501 executes the above method.

[0083] The specific implementation process of the processor 501 can be found in the above method embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, so this embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0084] In the above embodiments, it should be understood that the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the invention may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0085] The memory may include a high-speed memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), and may also include a non-volatile memory (Non-volatile Memory, NVM), such as at least one disk memory.

[0086] The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, the bus in the drawings of the present application is not limited to only one bus or one type of bus.

[0087] The present application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which implements the above method when executed by a processor.

[0088] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When a processor executes the computer-executable instructions, the above method is implemented.

[0089] The above-mentioned readable storage medium can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk or optical disk. The readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general or special-purpose computer.

[0090] An exemplary readable storage medium is coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the readable storage medium and write information to the readable storage medium. Of course, the readable storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the readable storage medium can be located in an application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, referred to as: ASIC). Of course, the processor and the readable storage medium can also exist in the device as discrete components.

[0091] The division of units is only a logical function division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0092] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0093] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0094] If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods of each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), disk or optical disk, etc. Various media that can store program codes.

[0095] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions. The aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiments are executed; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: ROM, RAM, disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0096] Finally, it should be noted that those skilled in the art will readily conceive of other embodiments of the present invention after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present invention is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present invention, which follow the general principles of the present invention and include common knowledge or customary technical means in the art not disclosed by the present invention, are not limited to the precise structure described above and shown in the drawings, and may be modified and changed in various ways without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A grayscale printing method, characterized in that: include: Obtaining a heating pulse corresponding to a pixel point in a row of the grayscale image; At least part of the pixels in a row are alternately heated based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in the row.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: A plurality of heating time periods are set, and corresponding heating time periods are matched for the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in a row.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The alternately heating at least some of the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in the row comprises: At least some of the pixels in a row are alternately heated based on the matching heating time periods of the pixels in the row.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Among two adjacent pixels, the heating time period of the previous pixel is different from the heating time period of the next pixel.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The setting of multiple heating time periods, matching corresponding heating time periods for pixels in a row based on heating pulses corresponding to pixels in a row, includes: Set multiple heating time periods of the same length; A corresponding number of heating time periods are matched to the pixels in a row based on the heating pulses corresponding to the pixels in the row.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that Two adjacent pixel points match adjacent heating time periods. If the heating time period matched by the next pixel point reaches the maximum heating time period among all heating time periods, the remaining heating pulse of the next pixel point matches the first heating time period among all heating time periods. The last heating time period matched by the previous pixel is the largest heating time period among all heating time periods, and the first heating time period matched by the next pixel is the first heating time period among all heating time periods.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The setting of multiple heating time periods, matching corresponding heating time periods for pixels in a row based on heating pulses corresponding to pixels in a row, includes: Set multiple heating time periods of different durations; The heating pulses based on the pixels in a row are matched to the corresponding pulse combinations for the pixels in a row, and the pulse combinations based on the pixels are matched to the corresponding heating time periods for the pixels.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The number of segments of the heating time period is greater than the highest grayscale level.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The step of obtaining the grayscale level of each pixel in a row of the grayscale image and the heating pulse corresponding to the grayscale level of each pixel includes: Obtaining the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image, dividing the grayscale levels of all pixels in the original image by a preset value to obtain a grayscale image; A heating pulse corresponding to the grayscale level of a pixel point in the grayscale image is obtained.

10. A printing chip, characterized in that: Execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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