Printing system capable of performing dual-width printing, and dual-width printing control method

Abstract

Disclosed is a printing system capable of performing dual-width printing. The system comprises: a conveying guide belt (10), which is used for simultaneously conveying two lanes of printing media (60); and a printing unit (50), which is located on the conveying guide belt and is used for printing two lanes of passing printing media, wherein the printing unit comprises a system controller, which is used for identifying and sorting jobs to be printed on the two lanes of printing media, so as to form a sub-queue A and a sub-queue B, and during printing, the system controller forms a page buffer area on the basis of printing image parameters and printing medium parameters, and places job image data in the two job sub-queues at specified positions of the page buffer area for printing. The present printing system can not only complete a dual-width printing function, but also support a single-width printing function, thereby meeting the requirements that the productivity is not reduced and energy is not wasted when a large-width digital printing device produces a narrow-width job, and achieving the goals of improving the motility and flexibility of the device and improving the delivery efficiency of a narrow-width order.

Description

A printing system capable of double-width printing and a double-width printing control method Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of digital printing technology, and more specifically, to a printing system capable of double-width printing, and also to a double-width printing control method. Background Technology

[0002] Existing single-pass digital printing equipment typically includes a fabric feeding unit, a platform unit, a printing unit, and a drying unit. The fabric feeding unit is equipped with a media tension detection and control system. The platform unit presses the printing media onto the guide belt for the printing unit to print. In the printing unit, only one printing job is performed at a time. After printing, the drying unit dries the printing media before outputting it.

[0003] In existing technologies, the system controller of a printing unit typically includes modules for job queue management and job printing status monitoring. After printing begins, the system controller allocates page memory based on the first job in the queue, reads image data, and sends data to the CNC unit. The CNC unit acquires the platform motion signals, performs printing, and then feeds back the printing status to the system controller. The system controller collects and parses the status, and finally displays the job's printing information on the interface. This mainly includes the name of the job being printed, the current printing status, and the length of the printed job. This process is repeated to complete all jobs. Generally, the printing unit handles the printing process for user jobs, as shown in Figure 1.

[0004] In existing single-pass digital printing equipment, the common print width is around 1700mm or even wider, making it suitable for printing on most fabrics. However, during production, there are often narrow-width printing orders, such as orders with a width of around 500mm. Under normal circumstances, users can directly produce on their existing equipment, but during production, only a small portion of the printheads are operational, while the majority remain idle, directly impacting the equipment's capacity and resulting in significant waste.

[0005] Therefore, a new solution is needed to address this problem. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a printing system and a dual-width printing control method capable of dual-width printing, which can achieve simultaneous printing of two printing media at the same time when operating on narrow-width printing media.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0008] A printing system capable of double-width printing includes:

[0009] Conveyor belt, used to simultaneously transport two printing media;

[0010] The printing unit, located on the conveyor belt, is used to print on two passing printing media;

[0011] The printing unit includes a system controller, which is used to identify and sort the jobs to be printed onto the two printing media, forming two job sub-queues, namely sub-queue A and sub-queue B; the images to be printed A in sub-queue A are arranged in a vertical continuous cyclic pattern, and the images to be printed B in sub-queue B are arranged in a vertical continuous cyclic pattern.

[0012] During printing, the system controller allocates page memory based on the print image parameters and printing media parameters to form a page buffer. It then places the job image data from the two job sub-queues into the designated position in the page buffer for printing.

[0013] The present invention further includes:

[0014] The dual-width unwinding unit has two independent unwinding sub-units, which are used to unwind the two printing media respectively;

[0015] The guide roller, located before the printing unit, is used to press the printing medium onto the conveyor belt;

[0016] The dual-width winding unit has two independent winding sub-units, which are used to wind up the two printing media respectively.

[0017] Furthermore, the present invention includes two sets of unwinding units, each having a tension detection and control unit, for maintaining the flat conveying of the two printing media respectively.

[0018] The invention further includes a numerical control unit, which, during printing, controls the running speed and running distance of the conveyor belt, and is adapted to the printing speed of the printing unit.

[0019] Furthermore, the present invention uses two printing media, namely printing medium A and printing medium B, on which patterns A and B are printed respectively.

[0020] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the width of printing medium A is Wa, the width of printing medium B is Wb, the distance between the two printing mediums is S, the reserved width on the left side of the printing medium A to be printed is Ka, and the reserved width on the left side of the printing medium B to be printed is Kb.

[0021] Furthermore, the vertical height of the page buffer is determined by the job height of sub-queue A and is an integer multiple of image A; the horizontal width of the page buffer is Wa+S+Wb.

[0022] Furthermore, in this invention, when the image data in the page buffer is filled, in the horizontal position, images A in sub-queue A are arranged starting from position Ka, and images B in sub-queue B are arranged starting from position Wa+S+Kb.

[0023] Image B is arranged in a vertically continuous loop within the vertical height range of the page buffer. The vertical end position of the page buffer is recorded as the printing end position of image B in queue B.

[0024] Furthermore, in the next page buffer filling, in the vertical position, image B in queue B is filled starting from the end position of the previous print.

[0025] This invention also provides a method for controlling dual-width printing, using the printing system described above, which enables simultaneous printing on two printing media. The specific steps of this invention in dual-width printing are as follows:

[0026] 1) Equipped with a double-width unwinding unit and a double-width rewinding unit, simultaneously conveying two printing media;

[0027] 2) Configure the printing unit, input the two images to be printed onto two media, and identify and sort them through the system controller;

[0028] 3) After printing begins, the system controller allocates page memory for the double-page job, forms a page buffer, and then sends the data from the page buffer down;

[0029] 4) Perform printing status analysis and interface presentation for double-page printing jobs.

[0030] In summary, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0031] By employing a dual-width unwinding unit and a dual-width rewinding unit, along with a conveyor belt and a printing unit, two printing media can be simultaneously conveyed, and the two printing media can operate independently. When printing narrow-width printing media, it can achieve simultaneous printing of both printing media, thus avoiding wasting the production efficiency of wide-width digital printing equipment and reducing idle printing units. At the same time, this printing system is also suitable for printing single-width printing media, which can improve the flexibility and mobility of the equipment and increase the overall production efficiency of the equipment.

[0032] Controlled by the system controller of the printing unit, the parameters of the two printing media and the image to be printed can be processed during double-width printing. By identifying and sorting, two sub-queues of operations can be formed, enabling the printing unit to print two images simultaneously, thus achieving double-width printing. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 is a control logic diagram of a printing system in the prior art;

[0034] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a printing system capable of double-width printing in this embodiment;

[0035] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the task sub-column in this embodiment;

[0036] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the system controller's image data processing in this embodiment;

[0037] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the page buffer in this embodiment;

[0038] Figure 6 is a flowchart of the program design for calculating the page height in this embodiment;

[0039] Reference numerals: Conveyor belt 10; Double-width unwinding unit 20; Unwinding unit 21; Double-width rewinding unit 30; Conveyor belt pressure roller 40; Printing unit 50; Printing medium 60. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0041] This embodiment discloses a printing system capable of dual-width printing. Referring to Figure 2, it includes: a conveyor belt 10, a dual-width unwinding unit 20, a dual-width rewinding unit 30, a guide belt pressure roller 40, and a printing unit 50. It can simultaneously convey two printing media 60 and print two different patterns on the two printing media 60 simultaneously. When producing narrow-width printing media, this printing system can achieve simultaneous printing on two printing media, thereby improving the operating efficiency of the equipment. The sum of the widths of the two printing media should not exceed a preset width parameter.

[0042] In the printing system of this embodiment, the conveyor belt is a circular belt structure with a surface that can adhere to two printing media, and can convey two printing media simultaneously.

[0043] The dual-width unwinding unit 20 serves to unwind two types of printing media. It has two independent unwinding sub-units 21, used to unwind the two printing media separately. The printing media 60 is generally a roll of fabric with printing. The two unwinding units 21 each have tension detection and control units, which can control the tension of the two printing media and perform deviation correction to keep the two printing media transported flat.

[0044] The dual-width take-up unit 30 has two independent take-up sub-units 31, which are used to take up the two printing media 60 respectively. The two take-up units 30 and the two unwind units 31 are adapted to each other, and can respectively take up and roll up the two printing media, which can adapt to the transportation of printing media.

[0045] The guide roller 40 is located before the printing unit 50 and between the double-width unwinding unit 20 and the printing unit 50. Before printing, the two printing media 60 pass through the guide roller 40, which can press the two printing media 60 onto the conveyor belt 10 to keep the printing media flat.

[0046] The printing unit 50 is a digital printer located on the conveyor belt 10 and is used to print on the two printing media 60 that pass through it.

[0047] The printing system in this embodiment also includes a numerical control unit. During printing, the numerical control unit can control the entire system according to parameters such as printing image parameters and printing medium parameters, and control the running speed and running distance of the conveyor belt to match the printing speed of the printing unit.

[0048] In this embodiment, the printing unit includes a system controller, which can identify and sort the jobs to be printed onto the two printing media, forming two job sub-queues.

[0049] Before printing begins, the system controller identifies and arranges the two patterns to be printed on printing media A and printing media B based on user input and arrangement, forming sub-queues A and B. Sub-queue A corresponds to printing media A and the pattern to be printed is pattern A; sub-queue B corresponds to printing media B and the pattern to be printed is pattern B.

[0050] Referring to Figure 3, there are two sub-queues, sub-queue A and sub-queue B. The images to be printed, A, in sub-queue A are arranged in a vertically continuous loop, and the images to be printed, B, in sub-queue B are arranged in a vertically continuous loop. The print jobs in sub-queue A are JA-01, JA-02, JA-03, JA-04…, and the print jobs in sub-queue B are JB-01, JB-02, JB-03, JB-04… Then, the system controller marks the user's double-image printing parameters. Specifically, the width of printing medium A is Wa, the width of printing medium B is Wb, the spacing between the two printing media is S, the reserved width on the left side of printing medium A is Ka, and the reserved width on the left side of printing medium B is Kb.

[0051] Referring to Figure 4, at the start of printing, the system controller initiates two image data reading threads, denoted as thread A and thread B in this embodiment, which read image data from sub-queues A and B, respectively. The system controller allocates page memory based on the print image parameters and printing medium parameters to form a page buffer. The job image data read by threads A and B is placed in the designated location of the page buffer and then sent to the CNC unit for printing.

[0052] The system controller allocates memory based on the job height in sub-queue A. While filling memory, jobs in sub-queue B are filled with data in a vertically continuous manner. Referring to Figure 4, the vertical height of the page buffer is determined by the job height in sub-queue A, and the height of the page buffer is always an integer multiple of the height of image A. Image B is within the vertical height of the page buffer, but its height may not be an integer multiple of its own height. The system controller sends page data to the CNC unit using the vertical height of the page buffer as the smallest unit. The CNC unit controls the printing system's operation and print media delivery, working in conjunction with the printing unit to achieve double-width printing.

[0053] Referring to Figure 5, during the data filling process of the page buffer, the horizontal width of the page buffer is Wa+S+Wb, while the horizontal width and height of the page buffer can be adjusted according to the printing system. In this embodiment, the height of the page buffer is an integer equal to the height of image A. The system controller places the job image data from sub-queue A into the area marked A, i.e., horizontally starting from position Ka, and places the job image data from sub-queue B into the area marked B, i.e., horizontally starting from position Wa+S+Kb. The vertical end position of the page buffer is recorded as the printing end position of image B in queue B. After the page buffer is fully filled, a data transmission can be performed.

[0054] When the page buffer is filled in the next time, image B in queue B starts to be filled from the end position of the previous print. In the vertical position, the end position of the previous print in queue B can be continuous with the start position of the next print in queue B, so that the image in region B can be printed continuously.

[0055] During the printing process, the system controller collects printing information fed back by the CNC unit, parses the data, and forms status information packets for corresponding sub-queues A and B. Subsequently, the system controller's interface unit displays the status of sub-queues A and B respectively.

[0056] The CNC unit will return print information in page height units. The system controller will parse the print information of the jobs in sub-queue A based on the job parameter information. The system controller will then parse the print information of the jobs in sub-queue B based on the job parameter information in sub-queue B and the page height information returned by the CNC unit, and will provide feedback on the position where the last print in queue B ended.

[0057] Referring to Figure 6, the total length completed by subqueue A is SumA, and the total length completed by subqueue B is SumB. In the figure, a is a variable representing the job of subqueue A, and b is a variable representing the job of subqueue B.

[0058] Specifically, the calculation process when the page height is one time the height of the job in subqueue A is as follows:

[0059] 1) If the CNC unit returns the number of pages printed, Pa, then it can be known that the number of pages printed for this job in subqueue A is Pa.

[0060] 2) If the height of a page in the job parameters of subqueue A is Ha (in millimeters), then the length of the page that has been printed in the current subqueue A is La = Pa·Ha;

[0061] 3) If the total length of the job parameters in subqueue B is Lb, then when Pa·Ha is greater than or equal to Lb, mark that this job in B has been completed, and at the same time, add the value of Pa·Ha-Lb to the printed length of the next job in B. This position is the end position of printing in queue B.

[0062] This embodiment also discloses a dual-printing control method, which uses the printing system as described in the above embodiment to achieve simultaneous printing on two printing media.

[0063] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. All technical solutions falling within the scope of the present invention's concept are within the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, any improvements and modifications made without departing from the principles of the present invention should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A printing system capable of double-width printing, characterized in that, include: Conveyor belt, used to simultaneously transport two printing media; The printing unit, located on the conveyor belt, is used to print on two passing printing media; The printing unit includes a system controller, which is used to identify and sort the jobs to be printed onto the two printing media, forming two job sub-queues, namely sub-queue A and sub-queue B; the images to be printed A in sub-queue A are arranged in a vertical continuous cyclic pattern, and the images to be printed B in sub-queue B are arranged in a vertical continuous cyclic pattern. During printing, the system controller allocates page memory based on the print image parameters and printing media parameters to form a page buffer. It then places the job image data from the two job sub-queues into the designated position in the page buffer for printing.

2. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The dual-width unwinding unit has two independent unwinding sub-units, which are used to unwind the two printing media respectively; The guide roller, located before the printing unit, is used to press the printing medium onto the conveyor belt; The dual-width winding unit has two independent winding sub-units, which are used to wind up the two printing media respectively.

3. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 2, characterized in that, The two unwinding units each have tension detection and control units, which are used to keep the two printing media flat and conveyed.

4. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a CNC unit, which is used to control the running speed and running distance of the conveyor belt during printing, and is adapted to the printing speed of the printing unit.

5. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The two printing media are printing medium A and printing medium B, and pattern A and pattern B are printed on the two printing media respectively.

6. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 5, characterized in that, The width of printing medium A is Wa, the width of printing medium B is Wb, the distance between the two printing mediums is S, the reserved width on the left side of printing medium A to be printed is Ka, and the reserved width on the left side of printing medium B to be printed is Kb.

7. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 6, characterized in that, The vertical height of the page buffer is determined by the job height of sub-queue A and is an integer multiple of image A; the horizontal width of the page buffer is Wa+S+Wb.

8. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the image data in the page buffer is filled, in the horizontal position, image A in sub-queue A is arranged starting from position Ka, and image B in sub-queue B is arranged starting from position Wa+S+Kb. Image B is arranged in a vertically continuous loop within the vertical height range of the page buffer. The vertical end position of the page buffer is recorded as the printing end position of image B in queue B.

9. The printing system capable of double-width printing according to claim 8, characterized in that, When the page buffer is filled next time, in the vertical position, image B in queue B will be filled starting from the end position of the last print.

10. A method for controlling double-width printing, characterized in that, Printing is performed using a printing system capable of double-width printing as described in any one of claims 1-9.

Images