Data fusion transmission method and system for inkjet printer print head

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of data fusion transmission method and system of ink-jet printer print head, wherein method includes: host sends data, judges whether it is print data;If it is print data, with 1 μs~5 μs CS chip selection period high-speed transmission, drive print head drive circuit;If it is control interactive data, host first ink cartridge board is set to non-work address area, after CS waiting >200 μs, with >10 μs CS chip selection period low-speed transmission, CS signal is transmitted to print head MCU after monostable circuit delay trigger, after transceiving, host resets ink cartridge board and returns to print address area.And system includes host sending unit, monostable resolution unit, address counter unit etc..The present application is triggered by monostable circuit delay and address area switching, realizes the hardware resolution of print data and control interactive data, does not occupy print head side MCU resource, reduces equipment cost, improves ink-jet precision and transmission stability, applicable to various ink-jet printers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of inkjet printer data transmission technology, and in particular to a data fusion transmission method and system for inkjet printer printheads. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of inkjet printers, a large amount of high-speed printing data exchange is required between the host computer and the printhead, as well as ordinary control data exchange. Existing technologies typically employ the following two methods to achieve this data exchange: Method 1: Printing data and control interaction data are transmitted via separate lines. The drawback of this method is that when the transmission distance is long, the wiring cost is high, the line management is complex, and the compatibility with the compact ink cartridge board hardware layout is poor.

[0003] Method 2: Print data and control interaction data are transmitted through the same line. While this method has advantages in long-distance transmission, the distinction between the two types of data at the printhead end depends entirely on the MCU on the printhead side. This will severely consume MCU resources, leading to MCU performance bottlenecks, and requires the use of high-performance, high-cost MCUs, increasing equipment costs.

[0004] In addition, existing thermal ink cartridge driving technologies have problems such as multiple control lines, high MCU resource consumption, and difficulty in long-distance transmission. For example, although patent CN117908805A uses a serial-to-parallel driver and address counter unit to optimize resource consumption, it does not solve the problem of efficiently distinguishing printing data and control data on a single line without consuming MCU resources.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a technical solution that can efficiently integrate and transmit printing data and control interaction data on the same communication line, without occupying MCU resources on the printhead side and reducing MCU costs. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention proposes a data fusion transmission method and system for inkjet printer printheads. By using a monostable circuit delay triggering and address area switching mechanism, it achieves hardware-based differentiation of data types, avoids MCU resource occupation, ensures transmission stability, and is compatible with various inkjet printer hardware architectures, thus solving the aforementioned problems existing in the use of existing technologies.

[0007] The technical solution of this invention is implemented as follows: A data fusion and transmission method for an inkjet printer printhead, comprising the following steps: S1, The host sends data; S2. Determine whether the data is print data; S3. If it is print data, the print data is sent with a CS chip select cycle of 1μs to 5μs, thereby driving the print head drive circuit to perform the printing operation; S4. If it is not printing data, the host first sets the ink cartridge board to the non-working address area, then waits for more than 200μs for CS, and sends control interaction data with a CS chip select cycle of more than 10μs. The CS signal of the control interaction data is transmitted to the printhead MCU controller after being delayed and triggered by the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit. Then, it waits for more than 200μs for CS again. After the control data transmission and reception are completed, the host resets the ink cartridge board and speeds up the CS of the MCU to return to the printing address area. The printing data is transmitted at a high speed, while the control interaction data is transmitted at a low speed. A printing data mask bit is added to the data to achieve the fused transmission of printing data and control interaction data on the same communication line without occupying the resources of the MCU on the printhead side.

[0008] Preferably, the host data transmission, print data transmission, and control interaction data transmission are all based on the SPI communication protocol, and data interaction is achieved through SPI CS, SPI DAT, and SPI CLK lines. The SPI CS signal is directly transmitted to the ink cartridge board, and after being delayed by a monostable circuit, it generates an SPI CS# signal which is then transmitted to the printhead MCU.

[0009] Preferably, the delay time of the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit is determined by the external capacitor C22 and resistor R26, wherein C22 is 470pF-NPOJ and R26 is 20K-1%, and the delay time meets the delay requirements of the control interactive data transmission for the CS signal.

[0010] In addition, the present invention also proposes a system for the data fusion transmission method of the above-mentioned inkjet printer printhead, including a host transmitting unit, a monostable resolution unit, a serial-to-parallel driver unit, an address counter unit, a data channel switching unit, a printhead printing side, and a printhead MCU; The host transmitting unit is based on the SPI communication protocol and transmits printing data and control interaction data through SPI CS, SPI DAT, and SPICLK lines. The printing data is transmitted at high speed with a CS chip select cycle of 1μs to 5μs. The control interaction data is first sent by the host to the non-working address area, then waits for more than 200μs for CS, and then is transmitted at low speed with a CS chip select cycle of more than 10μs. Printing data masking bits are added to both types of data. The monostable resolution unit is composed of a 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit, including an external capacitor C22 (470pF-NPOJ) and a resistor R26 (20K-1%), which is used to delay the SPI CS signal and generate an SPI CS# signal to be transmitted to the printhead MCU. This realizes the delayed triggering of control interaction data and avoids MCU resource occupation during print data transmission. The address counter unit is used to receive the address signal sent by the host and provide synchronous address positioning for data transmission through the reset function. When the host sends control interaction data, the ink cartridge board is set to the non-working address area. After the control interaction data is sent and received, the host resets the ink cartridge board to return to the printing address area. The serial-to-parallel driver unit is used to convert serial data sent by the host into parallel data, which is adapted to the parallel data receiving requirements of the printhead drive circuit and the printhead MCU respectively. The data channel switching unit is used to switch the data flow direction according to the data type and the status of the ink cartridge board address area: when the ink cartridge board is in the printing address area, the printing data is transmitted to the printing side of the print head via the serial-to-parallel driver unit, driving the print head drive circuit to perform the printing operation; when the ink cartridge board is in the non-working address area, the control interaction data is transmitted to the print head MCU via the serial-to-parallel driver unit and the monostable resolution unit, realizing the control interaction function of the inkjet printer. The printhead MCU only receives control interaction data triggered by a delay of the monostable resolution unit when the ink cartridge board is in the non-working address area, and does not participate in the data type resolution process of the print address area.

[0011] Preferably, the delay time of the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit is set by adjusting the parameters of the external capacitor C22 and resistor R26 to match the delay requirements of different inkjet printers for control interaction data transmission.

[0012] In summary, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: 1. Zero MCU resource usage: Through the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit delay trigger and address area switching mechanism, the printhead MCU only receives control interaction data in the non-working address area, completely avoiding the data discrimination work in the print address area; 2. High transmission stability: Dual protection of address area switching (print address area / non-working address area) and monostable circuit delay trigger ensures high data resolution accuracy and extremely low inkjet printing misalignment rate.

[0013] 3. Strong hardware compatibility: "The 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit is a general-purpose chip, and the external capacitor and resistor parameters can be flexibly adjusted to adapt to the printheads of different types of inkjet printers such as thermal inkjet and piezoelectric inkjet printers, and is compatible with mainstream ink cartridge board architectures. 4. Low deployment cost: Single-line transmission simplifies cabling and reduces costs. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the data fusion and transmission method of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a block diagram of the data fusion transmission system architecture of the present invention; Figure 3 This is the monostable circuit in this invention; Figure 4 This is a comparison diagram of the timing of data transmission between the inkjet printer printing data and the control interaction data in this invention; Figure 5 This is a timing diagram of data transmission on the ink cartridge board in this invention; Figure 6 This is the serial-to-parallel driver unit for the ink cartridge board in this invention; Figure 7 This is the address counter unit of the ink cartridge board in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The following will refer to the appendices in the embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1-6 The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described herein. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] Example: like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, this invention discloses a data fusion and transmission method for the printhead of an inkjet printer, which includes the following steps: S1. Data Transmission Preparation: The host transmitting unit initializes the SPI communication parameters (CLK clock frequency, CS signal initial level), determines the high-speed transmission parameters for print data (1μs~5μs CS chip select cycle) and the low-speed transmission parameters for control interaction data (greater than 200μs CS wait + greater than 10μs CS chip select cycle), and configures the print data mask bit for both types of data (print data mask bit set to high level, control interaction data mask bit set to low level). S2. Print data transmission: If print data is to be sent, the host sends it at high speed with a CS chip select cycle of 1μs~5μs. The SPI CS signal is directly transmitted to the ink cartridge board. The ink cartridge board is located in the print address area. The serial-to-parallel driver unit converts the serial data into parallel data and then transmits it to the print head printing side to drive the print head drive circuit to perform the printing operation. S3. Control Interaction Data Transmission: If control interaction data is to be sent, the host first sets the ink cartridge board to the non-working address area, then waits for more than 200μs for CS, and sends it at a low speed with a CS chip select cycle of more than 10μs. The SPI CS signal is input to the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit, and after being delayed by an external capacitor C22 (470pF-NPOJ) and resistor R26 (20K-1%), the SPI CS# signal is generated and transmitted to the printhead MCU. The serial-to-parallel driver unit converts the serial control data into parallel data and then transmits it to the printhead MCU. After the control interaction data transmission and reception are completed, the host waits for more than 200μs for CS again, then resets the ink cartridge board and speeds up the CS of the MCU to return the ink cartridge board to the print address area. S4. Data type differentiation: Through the ink cartridge board address area switching (print address area / non-working address area) and the delay triggering mechanism of the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit, hardware differentiation between print data and control interaction data is achieved. The printhead MCU only receives the delayed-triggered control interaction data in the non-working address area and does not participate in the data processing of the print address area.

[0018] In addition, the present invention also discloses a system for a data fusion and transmission method applicable to the printhead of an inkjet printer. The core design of the system lies in "monostable delay triggering + address area switching". The functions and connections of each unit are as follows: Host Transmission Unit: Based on the SPI communication protocol, it transmits printing data and control interaction data through SPI CS, SPI DAT, and SPICLK lines. The transmission parameters can be flexibly set according to the working conditions of the inkjet printer to adapt to the needs of different inkjet printer models. Monostable resolution unit: Composed of 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit, with external capacitor C22 (470pF-NPOJ) and resistor R26 (20K-1%) used to set the delay time, perform delay processing on the SPI CS signal, generate SPI CS# signal to be transmitted to the printhead MCU, and is triggered only when transmitting control interaction data to avoid MCU resource occupation during print data transmission; Address counter unit: Used to receive address signals sent by the host, and provides synchronous address positioning for data transmission through the reset function. When the host sends control interaction data, the ink cartridge board is set to the non-working address area. After the control interaction data is sent and received, the host resets the ink cartridge board to return to the printing address area. Serial-to-parallel driver unit: Converts serial data from SPI DAT into parallel data to meet the parallel data reception requirements of the printhead drive circuit and the printhead MCU, respectively. Data channel switching unit: Switches the data flow direction according to the status of the ink cartridge board address area and the data type. When printing the address area, it transmits printing data to the print head printing side, and when not in the working address area, it transmits control interaction data to the print head MCU.

[0019] The method and system of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific application scenarios.

[0020] (a) Setting parameters for the implementation scenario This embodiment is for industrial-grade inkjet printers, with the following parameters set: SPI communication parameters: CLK clock frequency 1MHz, MOSI data width 8 bits; Data transmission parameters: Print data CS chip select cycle 3μs, 8th bit of the mask bit set to 1; Control interaction data CS wait time 250μs, CS chip select cycle 15μs, 8th bit of the mask bit set to 0; Monostable circuit parameters: 74LVC1G123, external C22 is 470pF-NPOJ, R26 is 20K-1%, and the delay time meets the control interaction data transmission requirements.

[0021] (II) Method Execution Flow Print data transmission process: The host transmitting unit determines that the data to be transmitted is print data, configures the CS chip select period to 3μs, sets the 8th bit of the mask bit to 1, and transmits the print data via SPI MOSI; The SPI CS signal is transmitted directly to the ink cartridge board, which is located in the print address area. The serial-to-parallel driver unit converts serial printing data into parallel data, and the data channel switching unit transmits it to the printhead printing side to drive the printhead drive circuit to dispense ink; the printhead MCU does not participate in this process and does not occupy any resources.

[0022] Controlling the interactive data transmission process: The host transmitting unit determines that the data to be transmitted is control interaction data, and first sets the ink cartridge board to the non-working address area; The host outputs a 250μs CS wait, then configures the CS chip select cycle to 15μs, sets the 8th bit of the mask bit to 0, and sends control interaction data; The SPI CS signal is input to the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit, and after delay processing by C22 and R26, the SPI CS# signal is generated and transmitted to the printhead MCU. The serial-to-parallel driver unit converts serial control data into parallel data, and the data channel switching unit transmits it to the printhead MCU, which then executes the control commands. After the control interaction data transmission and reception are completed, the host outputs a 250μs CS wait, then resets the ink cartridge board and speeds up the CS of the MCU, and the ink cartridge board returns to the print address area.

[0023] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A data fusion and transmission method for an inkjet printer printhead, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: S1, The host sends data; S2. Determine whether the data is print data; S3. If it is print data, the print data is sent as the CS chip select cycle with a complete high and low level cycle of 1μs~5μs CS signal, thereby driving the print head drive circuit to perform the printing operation. S4. If it is not printing data, the host first sets the ink cartridge board to the non-working address area, and then performs a continuous high-level idle wait for more than 200μs of CS signal. The complete high-low level cycle of the CS signal is used as the CS chip select cycle to send control interaction data. The CS signal of the control interaction data is transmitted to the printhead MCU controller after being delayed and triggered by the monostable circuit. Then, the host performs a continuous high-level idle wait for more than 200μs of CS signal again. After the control data transmission and reception are completed, the host resets the ink cartridge board and restores the CS chip select cycle to the high-speed state. This makes the high-speed CS chip select signal filtered out by the monostable resolution unit and unable to reach the CS pin of the printhead MCU, thereby shielding the MCU's CS reception and returning to the printing address area.

2. The data fusion and transmission method for a printer printhead according to claim 1, characterized in that: The print data is sent at a high speed, while the control interaction data is sent at a low speed. Print data masking bits are added to both the print data and the control interaction data to achieve integrated transmission of print data and control interaction data on the same communication line without occupying the resources of the MCU on the printhead side.

3. The data fusion and transmission method for a printer printhead according to claim 2, characterized in that: The host sends data, prints data, and controls interactive data. All of these are based on the SPI communication protocol and are implemented through SPI CS, SPIDAT, and SPI CLK lines. The SPI CS signal is directly transmitted to the ink cartridge board and then processed by a monostable circuit to generate the SPI CS# signal, which is then transmitted to the printhead MCU.

4. A data fusion and transmission method for an inkjet printer printhead according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: The delay time of the monostable circuit is determined by the external capacitor C22 and resistor R26, where C22 is 470pF-NPOJ and R26 is 20K-1%. The delay time meets the delay requirements of the control interaction data transmission for the CS signal.

5. A system applicable to the data fusion and transmission method for the printhead of an inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that: It includes a host transmitting unit, a monostable resolution unit, a serial-to-parallel driver unit, an address counter unit, a data channel switching unit, a printhead printing side, and a printhead MCU.

6. The data fusion transmission system for the inkjet printer printhead according to claim 5, characterized in that: The host transmitting unit is based on the SPI communication protocol and transmits printing data and control interaction data through the SPI CS, SPI DAT, and SPI CLK lines. The printing data is transmitted at high speed with a complete high-low level cycle of the CS signal of 1μs to 5μs. The control interaction data is first sent by the host to the non-working address area, and then the host performs a continuous high-level idle wait for more than 200μs of CS signal before transmitting at low speed with a complete high-low level cycle of the CS signal of more than 10μs. Printing data masking bits are added to both types of data.

7. The data fusion transmission system for the inkjet printer printhead according to claim 6, characterized in that: The monostable resolution unit is composed of a 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit, including an external capacitor C22 and a resistor R26, where C22 is 470pF-NPOJ and R26 is 20K-1%, used to delay the SPI CS signal and generate an SPI CS# signal to be transmitted to the printhead MCU, realizing delayed triggering of control interaction data, while avoiding MCU resource occupation during print data transmission.

8. The data fusion transmission system for the inkjet printer printhead according to claim 7, characterized in that: The address counter unit is used to receive the address signal sent by the host and provide synchronous address positioning for data transmission through the reset function. When the host sends control interaction data, the ink cartridge board is set to the non-working address area. After the control interaction data is sent and received, the host resets the ink cartridge board to return to the printing address area. The serial-to-parallel driver unit is used to convert serial data sent by the host into parallel data, adapting to the parallel data reception requirements of the printhead drive circuit and the printhead MCU, respectively.

9. The data fusion transmission system for the inkjet printer printhead according to claim 8, characterized in that: The data channel switching unit is used to switch the data flow direction according to the data type and the status of the ink cartridge board address area: when the ink cartridge board is in the printing address area, the printing data is transmitted to the printing side of the print head via the serial-to-parallel driver unit, driving the print head drive circuit to perform the printing operation; when the ink cartridge board is in the non-working address area, the control interaction data is transmitted to the print head MCU via the serial-to-parallel driver unit and the monostable resolution unit, realizing the inkjet printer control interaction function. The printhead MCU only receives control interaction data triggered by a delay of the monostable resolution unit when the ink cartridge board is in the non-working address area, and does not participate in the data type resolution process of the print address area.

10. The data fusion transmission system for the inkjet printer printhead according to claim 9, characterized in that: The delay time of the 74LVC1G123 monostable circuit is set by adjusting the parameters of the external capacitor C22 and resistor R26 to match the delay requirements of different inkjet printers for control interaction data transmission.

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