Industrial printer control method and system

Abstract

An industrial printer control method and system relates to the field of program control technology. The method includes the following steps: obtaining the current print task of each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank; creating a dynamic time window for the current industrial printer and initializing the length of the dynamic time window to a first preset value; when other industrial printers are performing long-term ink extraction tasks, filling in preset data at each preset time step; when the dynamic time window is filled, outputting a compensation instruction to the current industrial printer; after receiving the compensation instruction, when the current industrial printer receives a print task, first performing an ink compensation operation on the ink supply pipeline of the current printer; the length of the dynamic time window is adjusted in real time according to the following steps: each time the current industrial printer receives a short-term ink extraction task, the length of the dynamic time window is reduced. This application can improve the printing effect of industrial printers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of program control technology, and in particular to an industrial printer control method and system. Background Art

[0002] In the field of industrial printing, especially for printing systems that use large ink tanks for ink supply, multiple printers sharing the same ink tank through their own ink pipelines can reduce costs and improve ink utilization efficiency.

[0003] However, because different printers perform different printing tasks, the actual amount of ink consumed can vary significantly. For example, industrial printer A is performing a large-volume, high-density color photo print job, which requires continuous high-flow ink extraction, creating negative pressure inside the ink reservoir.

[0004] During the same period, industrial printer B was only performing some simple barcode printing or was not printing at all, so its actual ink usage was very limited. This caused the ink in printer B's ink supply line to flow back into the ink reservoir, which in turn introduced air bubbles into the ink supply line. The accumulation of air bubbles could cause unstable jetting from printer B's printhead, leading to intermittent ink interruptions during printing and possible defects in the printed text or barcodes.

[0005] Therefore, the control method of industrial printers in the prior art still needs to be improved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems or at least partially solve the above technical problems, the present application provides an industrial printer control method and system, which can improve the printing effect of the industrial printer.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides an industrial printer control method, the industrial printer control method comprising the following steps:

[0008] Get the current print tasks of each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank;

[0009] Perform the following steps for each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank:

[0010] Creating a dynamic time window for the current industrial printer and initializing the length of the dynamic time window to a first preset value;

[0011] When other industrial printers are performing a long-time ink extraction task, a preset data is filled into the dynamic time window at every preset time step;

[0012] When the dynamic time window is filled, a compensation instruction is output to the current industrial printer;

[0013] After the current industrial printer receives the compensation instruction, when the current industrial printer receives the print task, it first performs an ink compensation operation on the ink supply pipeline of the current printer, and then executes the received print task;

[0014] The length of the dynamic time window is adjusted in real time according to the following steps:

[0015] Current industrial printers reduce the length of the dynamic time window each time they receive a short-term ink extraction task.

[0016] Optionally, the current industrial printer reduces the length of the dynamic time window each time it receives a short-time ink extraction task, including the following steps:

[0017] Establishing a tag data counting variable, and increasing the value of the tag data counting variable by a preset increment each time the other industrial printer performs an ink compensation operation;

[0018] According to the value of the labeled data count variable, the reduction range of the dynamic time window is calculated. The larger the value of the labeled data count variable, the larger the reduction range of the dynamic time window; the smaller the value of the labeled data count variable, the smaller the reduction range of the dynamic time window;

[0019] The value of the marker data count variable is reset every time the length of the dynamic time window is changed;

[0020] Establish a sliding time window, and write corresponding execution mark data to the sliding time window at every predetermined time step according to whether other industrial printers perform ink compensation operations;

[0021] Each time the current industrial printer receives a short-term ink pumping task, and when execution mark data of ink compensation operations of other industrial printers appears within the sliding time window:

[0022] The length of the dynamic time window is gradually reduced along the time axis at a slow release speed according to the reduction amplitude of the dynamic time window, so as to avoid multiple industrial printers from performing ink compensation operations in a concentrated manner.

[0023] Optionally, the slow-release speed is calculated by a preset slow-release speed calculation function, and the preset slow-release speed calculation function is:

[0024]

[0025] in,

[0026]

[0027]

[0028] in, Less than , Less than ;

[0029] in, is the sustained release rate, It is a slow basic sustained-release rate. It is a medium-speed basic sustained-release speed. For fast basic sustained release rate, is the first empirical parameter, is the length of the sliding time window, The number of times ink compensation operations are performed by other industrial printers within the sliding time window, is the maximum tolerance upper limit, The numeric value of the count variable for labeled data.

[0030] Optionally, the industrial printer control method further includes the following steps:

[0031] After the ink compensation operation is completed, the data and length within the dynamic time window corresponding to the current industrial printer are reset.

[0032] In a second aspect, the present application provides an industrial printer control system, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one program, a code set or an instruction set, and the at least one instruction, the at least one program, the code set or the instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the industrial printer control method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0033] The technical solution provided by this application has the following advantages compared with the existing technology:

[0034] One of its beneficial effects is described as follows:

[0035] When using an industrial printer system with multiple printers sharing the same ink tank, the ink usage patterns of different printers vary significantly because they perform different printing tasks. For example, printer A performs large-flow, long-term continuous inkjet tasks, while printer B only performs small amounts of intermittent printing. Therefore, when sharing the ink tank, the continuous ink extraction of A will cause the pressure in the ink tank to drop, thereby causing ink backflow and bubble generation at B.

[0036] The applicant has found that it is not possible to simply configure and perform a fixed ink compensation operation before B performs printing after discovering that A performs continuous ink jetting with a large flow rate.

[0037] This is because, although this method can be used when printer B is in a state of infrequent ink use for a long time and ink reflux occurs, performing such an ink compensation operation can discharge bubbles in time and ensure the normal operation of printer B's nozzle.

[0038] However, when printer B frequently initiates print jobs within a short period of time, the compensation operation draws ink from the ink tank and quickly fills the ink supply pipe. However, since each print job lasts very short, after the print job is completed, due to the negative pressure in the ink tank caused by printer A, some of the ink in printer B's ink supply pipe will quickly flow back into the ink tank after printing. Then, the arrival of the next print job triggers a new round of compensation, pumping ink from the ink tank back into the ink supply pipe. During the high-frequency compensation process caused by the frequent initiation of print jobs, the ink flows back and forth rapidly between the ink tank and the ink pipe. This repeated suction causes a large number of bubbles to form and accumulate in the ink near the ink tank and printer B's ink supply pipe, resulting in frequent defects in the text or barcodes printed by printer B.

[0039] This paper proposes an adaptive control method based on a dynamic time window, which effectively addresses the aforementioned technical issues. The core idea is to create a dynamic time window for each industrial printer and dynamically control the timing and frequency of compensation operations by adjusting the length of this window in real time.

[0040] Specifically, in the initial state, the method sets a time window for printer B. Only when printer A's continuous ink pumping operation lasts for a period of time, so that printer B's time window is filled, will the system send a compensation instruction to printer B.

[0041] Furthermore, this method introduces a dynamic adaptive adjustment mechanism for the time window length. When printer B repeatedly performs short ink draw tasks and indeed requires ink refill, the time window length automatically shortens as the task occurs. This shortened window length allows the compensation instruction to be triggered relatively quickly.

[0042] By leveraging the scalability of the dynamic time window, this method can automatically adjust the execution method and frequency of compensation operations based on the actual usage of printer B. In low-frequency usage scenarios, where printer B is idle for long periods of time, the initial window and delayed triggering mechanism can adapt to these long periods of inactivity, avoiding unnecessary compensation. In high-frequency usage scenarios, where printer B is frequently started and stopped, the adaptive shortening of the time window ensures that necessary compensation operations are executed at an appropriate frequency, ensuring rapid response to changes while avoiding violent, repetitive pumping.

[0043] Therefore, the present invention cleverly utilizes the simple and effective data structure of the dynamic time window. On the one hand, it determines the timing of compensation based on the actual usage of printer B, reducing the ineffective reciprocating flow of ink between the ink tank and the ink tube; on the other hand, it adjusts the rhythm of compensation in an adaptive manner, thereby minimizing the deposition of bubbles.

[0044] In summary, the industrial printer control method provided in this application can better suppress the generation and deposition of bubbles and improve the printing effect.

[0045] The second beneficial effect is as follows:

[0046] This is because the compensation behavior of other printers will actually further increase the negative pressure in the ink tank, causing more ink to be drawn from the ink supply pipeline of the current printer. If the current printer cannot respond in time and does not trigger its own compensation operation, the remaining ink in the ink supply pipeline will not be enough to complete a short printing task, causing bubbles to be ejected from the printhead and resulting in defects in the printed text or barcodes.

[0047] Therefore, this application introduces a marker data count variable to dynamically adjust the shortening of the time window. Specifically, as the count variable increases, the impact of other printers' compensation becomes greater. Therefore, the time window of the current printer should also shrink more significantly to enable faster ink compensation, allowing the current printer to keep pace with the entire industrial printer system.

[0048] However, the applicant found that this approach would cause all printers to perform compensation at the same time. When all printers performed compensation, the pressure in the ink tank would drop sharply, and a greater negative pressure would be generated in the ink tank. It could even cause the ink in the ink pipe of the printer that was printing to flow back, causing the color concentration of the print to change, affecting the printing effect.

[0049] Therefore, this application also incorporates a slow-release control mechanism based on a sliding time window. If ink compensation operations from other printers occur within a shorter sliding time window, adding new compensation operations indicates that the ink compensation operations are too concentrated. Therefore, when this application detects ink compensation operations within the sliding time window, it begins to implement a progressive time window contraction strategy, delaying and staggering compensation operations that might have originally occurred at the same time as much as possible. This staggering strategy ensures necessary compensation while minimizing the peak impact of negative pressure.

[0050] Therefore, the industrial printer control method provided in this application can better improve the printing effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1A flowchart of an industrial printer control method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0053] The following description sets forth many specific details to facilitate a thorough understanding of the present application. However, the present application may also be implemented in other ways than those described herein. It is apparent that the embodiments described in the specification are only some of the embodiments of the present application, not all of them. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application and the features therein may be combined with each other unless there is a conflict.

[0054] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an industrial printer control method, comprising the following steps:

[0055] S101: Acquire the current printing task of each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank.

[0056] Specifically, the industrial printer control system terminal obtains the print tasks currently assigned to each printer, thereby determining the type of current print tasks for each industrial printer. For example, it is acceptable to classify print tasks based solely on the number of prints. For example, if a print task is a photo with a print quantity greater than a first preset threshold, the print task is determined to be a long-time ink extraction task. If a print task is a document with a print quantity less than the first preset threshold, the print task is determined to be a short-time ink extraction task. However, in practice, each print task needs to be assigned a corresponding print quantity to determine whether it is a long-time ink extraction task or a short-time ink extraction task.

[0057] S102: For each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank, execute the following method:

[0058] A dynamic time window is created for the current industrial printer, and the length of the dynamic time window is initialized to a first preset value.

[0059] Specifically, the first preset value is a manually set value.

[0060] S103: When other industrial printers are executing a long-time ink extraction task, a preset data is filled into the dynamic time window at every preset time step;

[0061] For example, if the industrial printer control system assigns a long-duration ink extraction task to printer A, and printer B is the current industrial printer, its dynamic time window is 20 seconds, and the preset time step is 1 second. Then, every 1 second, while printer A's long-duration ink extraction task is still ongoing, the dynamic time window is filled with a preset data value of "1", occupying one data bit in the dynamic time window.

[0062] S104: When the dynamic time window is filled, output a compensation instruction to the current industrial printer;

[0063] After the current industrial printer receives the compensation instruction, when the current industrial printer receives a print task, it first performs an ink compensation operation on the ink supply pipeline of the current printer, and then executes the received print task.

[0064] Specifically, after the current printer B receives the compensation instruction, when it receives the next printing task, it first uses a preset ink replenishment extraction pressure to extract ink once to replenish the ink supply pipeline of printer B, and then executes the printing task.

[0065] S105: The length of the dynamic time window is adjusted in real time according to the following steps:

[0066] Current industrial printers reduce the length of the dynamic time window each time they receive a short-term ink extraction task.

[0067] Specifically, the following steps are included:

[0068] Establishing a tag data counting variable, and increasing the value of the tag data counting variable by a preset increment each time the other industrial printer performs an ink compensation operation;

[0069] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the initial value of the tag data count variable is 0, and the preset increment is 1.

[0070] The reduction range of the dynamic time window is calculated according to the value of the labeled data counting variable. The larger the value of the labeled data counting variable, the larger the reduction range of the dynamic time window. The smaller the value of the labeled data counting variable, the smaller the reduction range of the dynamic time window.

[0071] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the reduction range of the dynamic time window is directly obtained by multiplying the value of the marker data count variable by an artificially preset empirical parameter with a value range between 0 and 1, and rounding it off.

[0072] The value of the marker data count variable is reset every time the length of the dynamic time window is changed.

[0073] A sliding time window is established, and at predetermined time step intervals, execution mark data of corresponding states are written into the sliding time window according to whether other industrial printers perform ink compensation operations.

[0074] In this embodiment of the present application, the length of the sliding time window is 5.

[0075] In an embodiment of the present application, when other printers perform an ink compensation operation, they return execution identification data to the industrial printer control system terminal.

[0076] In the embodiment of the present application, the predetermined time step is 1. If other printers perform ink compensation operations, "1" is written to the sliding time window, otherwise, "0" is written.

[0077] Each time the current industrial printer receives a short-term ink pumping task, and when execution mark data of ink compensation operations of other industrial printers appears within the sliding time window:

[0078] The length of the dynamic time window is gradually reduced along the time axis at a slow release speed according to the reduction amplitude of the dynamic time window, so as to avoid multiple industrial printers from performing ink compensation operations in a concentrated manner.

[0079] Specifically, the sustained release rate is calculated by a preset sustained release rate calculation function, and the preset sustained release rate calculation function is:

[0080]

[0081] in,

[0082]

[0083]

[0084] in, Less than , Less than ;

[0085] in, is the sustained release rate, It is an artificially preset slow basic release speed. It is a medium-speed basic slow-release speed preset by humans. It is a fast basic release rate preset by humans. It is the first empirical parameter preset by humans. is the length of the sliding time window, The number of times ink compensation operations are performed by other industrial printers within the sliding time window, It is the maximum tolerance limit value preset by humans. The numeric value of the count variable for labeled data.

[0086] S106: After the ink compensation operation is completed, the data and length in the dynamic time window corresponding to the current industrial printer are reset.

[0087] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0088] One of the beneficial effects is described as follows:

[0089] When using an industrial printer system with multiple printers sharing the same ink tank, the ink usage patterns of different printers vary significantly because they perform different printing tasks. For example, printer A performs large-flow, long-term continuous inkjet tasks, while printer B only performs small amounts of intermittent printing. Therefore, when sharing the ink tank, the continuous ink extraction of A will cause the pressure in the ink tank to drop, thereby causing ink backflow and bubble generation at B.

[0090] The applicant has found that it is not possible to simply configure and perform a fixed ink compensation operation before B performs printing after discovering that A performs continuous ink jetting with a large flow rate.

[0091] This is because, although this method performs ink compensation operation when printer B is in a state of infrequent ink use for a long time and ink reflux occurs, it can discharge bubbles in time and ensure the normal operation of printer B's nozzle.

[0092] However, when printer B frequently initiates print jobs within a short period of time, the compensation operation draws ink from the ink tank and quickly fills the ink supply line. However, since each print job lasts very short, after the print job is completed, due to the negative pressure in the ink tank caused by printer A, some of the ink in printer B's ink supply line will quickly flow back into the ink tank after printing. Then, the arrival of the next print job triggers a new round of compensation, which re-draws ink from the ink tank into the ink supply line. During the high-frequency compensation process of frequently initiating print jobs, the ink flows rapidly back and forth between the ink tank and the ink tube. This repeated suction causes a large number of bubbles to form and accumulate in the ink near the ink tank and printer B's ink supply line, resulting in frequent defects in the text or barcodes printed by printer B.

[0093] This paper proposes an adaptive control method based on a dynamic time window, which effectively addresses the aforementioned technical issues. The core idea is to create a dynamic time window for each industrial printer and dynamically control the timing and frequency of compensation operations by adjusting the length of this window in real time.

[0094] Specifically, in the initial state, the method sets a time window for printer B. Only when printer A's continuous ink pumping operation lasts for a period of time, so that printer B's time window is filled, will the system send a compensation instruction to printer B.

[0095] Furthermore, this method introduces a dynamic adaptive adjustment mechanism for the time window length. When printer B repeatedly performs short ink draw tasks and indeed requires ink refill, the time window length automatically shortens as the task occurs. This shortened window length allows the compensation instruction to be triggered relatively quickly.

[0096] By leveraging the scalability of the dynamic time window, this method can automatically adjust the execution method and frequency of compensation operations based on the actual usage of printer B. In low-frequency usage scenarios, where printer B is idle for long periods of time, the initial window and delayed triggering mechanism can adapt to these long periods of inactivity, avoiding unnecessary compensation. In high-frequency usage scenarios, where printer B is frequently started and stopped, the adaptive shortening of the time window ensures that necessary compensation operations are executed at an appropriate frequency, ensuring rapid response to changes while avoiding violent, repetitive pumping.

[0097] Therefore, the present invention cleverly utilizes the simple and effective data structure of the dynamic time window. On the one hand, it determines the timing of compensation based on the actual usage of printer B, reducing the ineffective reciprocating flow of ink between the ink tank and the ink tube; on the other hand, it adjusts the rhythm of compensation in an adaptive manner, thereby minimizing the deposition of bubbles.

[0098] In summary, the industrial printer control method provided in this application can better suppress the generation and deposition of bubbles and improve the printing effect.

[0099] The second beneficial effect is as follows:

[0100] This is because the compensation behavior of other printers will actually further increase the negative pressure in the ink tank, causing more ink to be drawn from the ink supply pipeline of the current printer. If the current printer cannot respond in time and does not trigger its own compensation operation, the remaining ink in the ink supply pipeline will not be enough to complete a short printing task, causing bubbles to be ejected from the printhead and resulting in defects in the printed text or barcodes.

[0101] Therefore, this application introduces a marker data count variable to dynamically adjust the shortening of the time window. Specifically, as the count variable increases, the impact of other printers' compensation becomes greater. Therefore, the time window of the current printer should also shrink more significantly to enable faster ink compensation, allowing the current printer to keep pace with the entire industrial printer system.

[0102] However, the applicant found that this approach would cause all printers to perform compensation at the same time. When all printers performed compensation, the pressure in the ink tank would drop sharply, and a greater negative pressure would be generated in the ink tank. It could even cause the ink in the ink pipe of the printer that was printing to flow back, causing the color concentration of the print to change, affecting the printing effect.

[0103] Therefore, this application also incorporates a slow-release control mechanism based on a sliding time window. If ink compensation operations from other printers occur within a shorter sliding time window, adding new compensation operations indicates that the ink compensation operations are too concentrated. Therefore, when this application detects ink compensation operations within the sliding time window, it begins to implement a progressive time window contraction strategy, delaying and staggering compensation operations that might have originally occurred at the same time as much as possible. This staggering strategy ensures necessary compensation while minimizing the peak impact of negative pressure.

[0104] Therefore, the industrial printer control method provided in this application can better improve the printing effect.

[0105] In a second aspect, the present application provides an industrial printer control system, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one program, a code set or an instruction set, and the at least one instruction, the at least one program, the code set or the instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the industrial printer control method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0106] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used solely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "include," "comprises," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or includes elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a..." does not preclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents or. For example, A / B can represent either A or B. "And / or" herein is merely a description of an associative relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, “plurality” refers to two or more than two.

[0107] The foregoing description is intended only to provide specific embodiments of the present application, which will enable those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but is intended to be construed in the broadest manner consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An industrial printer control method, characterized in that: The industrial printer control method comprises the following steps: Get the current print tasks of each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank; Perform the following steps for each industrial printer that shares the same ink tank: Creating a dynamic time window for the current industrial printer and initializing the length of the dynamic time window to a first preset value; When other industrial printers are performing a long-time ink extraction task, a preset data is filled into the dynamic time window at every preset time step; When the dynamic time window is filled, a compensation instruction is output to the current industrial printer; After the current industrial printer receives the compensation instruction, when the current industrial printer receives the print task, it first performs an ink compensation operation on the ink supply pipeline of the current printer, and then executes the received print task; The length of the dynamic time window is adjusted in real time according to the following steps: Current industrial printers reduce the length of the dynamic time window each time they receive a short-term ink extraction task.

2. The industrial printer control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The current industrial printer reduces the length of the dynamic time window each time it receives a short-time ink extraction task, including the following steps: Establishing a tag data counting variable, and increasing the value of the tag data counting variable by a preset increment each time the other industrial printer performs an ink compensation operation; According to the value of the labeled data count variable, the reduction range of the dynamic time window is calculated. The larger the value of the labeled data count variable, the larger the reduction range of the dynamic time window; the smaller the value of the labeled data count variable, the smaller the reduction range of the dynamic time window; The value of the marker data count variable is reset every time the length of the dynamic time window is changed; Establish a sliding time window, and write corresponding execution mark data to the sliding time window at every predetermined time step according to whether other industrial printers perform ink compensation operations; Each time the current industrial printer receives a short-term ink pumping task, and when execution mark data of other industrial printers performing ink compensation operations appears within the sliding time window: The length of the dynamic time window is gradually reduced along the time axis at a slow release speed according to the reduction amplitude of the dynamic time window, so as to avoid multiple industrial printers from performing ink compensation operations in a concentrated manner.

3. The industrial printer control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The slow-release speed is calculated by a preset slow-release speed calculation function, which is: in, in, Less than , Less than ; in, is the sustained release rate, It is a slow basic sustained-release rate. It is a medium-speed basic sustained-release speed. For fast basic sustained release rate, is the first empirical parameter, is the length of the sliding time window, The number of times ink compensation operations are performed by other industrial printers within the sliding time window, is the maximum tolerance upper limit, Count the values ​​of the variable for labeled data.

4. The industrial printer control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The industrial printer control method further includes the following steps: After the ink compensation operation is completed, the data and length within the dynamic time window corresponding to the current industrial printer are reset.

5. Industrial printer control system, characterized in that, The method comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores at least one instruction, at least one program, a code set or an instruction set, and the at least one instruction, the at least one program, the code set or the instruction set is loaded and executed by the processor to implement the industrial printer control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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