Apparatus and method for pattern recognition and printing on a clothing fabric
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in accurately forming dividing lines on jacquard woven and three-dimensional patterned clothing fabrics, leading to potential deterioration of fabric quality and difficulty in detecting fabric distortion, which hinders precise printing.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus and method that includes a control unit, imaging unit, transport unit, and printing unit, utilizing pattern registration, extraction, correction processing, and image data adjustment to account for fabric distortion and pattern alignment, enabling accurate printing on distorted or patterned fabrics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a dividing line is formed on the clothing fabric to detect distortion, then the distortion detection capability is improved, but the fabric quality and texture are deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses imaging means to create a digital copy (image data) of the clothing fabric pattern instead of physically marking the fabric with dividing lines. The distortion is detected by analyzing the image data and comparing pattern positions, thereby avoiding any physical contact that would damage the fabric while achieving accurate distortion measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of forming physical dividing lines on the fabric with an optical/imaging system. The imaging means captures the fabric surface, and the control means processes the image data to detect distortion, substituting mechanical marking with non-contact optical measurement.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the pattern on the clothing fabric is uneven, then the fabric texture is improved, but the dividing line cannot be accurately formed leading to inaccurate distortion detection
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging means captures a complete digital replica of the fabric surface including all pattern variations. The control means processes this image data to identify the actual pattern positions and uses these to detect distortion, allowing accurate measurement even on fabrics with complex or uneven patterns that would prevent accurate dividing line formation.
3Manufacturing precision
If the clothing fabric has stretching or distortion, then the printing accuracy is improved by detecting distortion, but the complexity of the printing process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging means captures the fabric pattern and the control means calculates distortion in advance before the actual printing process. By determining the distortion amount and printing position correction beforehand, the system prepares correction data that simplifies the subsequent printing operation, maintaining high printing accuracy while managing process complexity through pre-processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the captured image data as feedback to detect fabric distortion and automatically calculates the necessary printing position corrections. This feedback loop allows the printing apparatus to adapt to fabric variations in real-time, maintaining printing accuracy without requiring complex manual intervention.
Data Source
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AI summary
A printing apparatus includes a transport unit that transports clothing fabric at which a pattern is formed, an imaging unit that images the clothing fabric transported by the transport unit, a printing unit that performs printing on the clothing fabric transported by the transport unit, and a control unit, the control unit registers first image data representing the pattern in a predetermined storage unit, extracts, based on a comparison between the first image data and second image data, a pattern region corresponding to the pattern in the second image data, the second image data is generated by imaging of the clothing fabric by imaging unit, corrects third image data representing an image to be printed overlaid on the pattern to match the shape of the pattern region, and causes the printing unit to perform the printing of the corrected third image data on the clothing fabric.