CN115703298A - Inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method, the inkjet printing apparatus including: a plurality of nozzles; an ink jet head to which a plurality of nozzles are fixed; and a control unit that controls the plurality of nozzles, the control unit including: a full-bitmap configuring unit configured to configure a substrate to be printed as a full-bitmap and store coordinates of each position; a unit area determination unit which analyzes a repetitive pattern on a substrate to specify a unit area; a unit area ink drop pattern creating unit that creates a unit area ink drop pattern by configuring a unit area as a unit bitmap and determining whether ink is dropped or not at each position on the unit bitmap; a nozzle coordinate analysis unit that analyzes, on a full-scale map, coordinates in a first direction and coordinates in a second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles; and an ink ejection determining section for determining whether or not to eject ink from the plurality of nozzles by associating m bits lower in the coordinate in the first direction and n bits lower in the coordinate in the second direction with the ink drop pattern in the unit region.

Description

Inkjet printing apparatus and inkjet printing method using the same

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method using the same.

Background

The Display device includes a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Display (OLED), and the like as a device for displaying a screen. Such a display device is used in various electronic devices such as a cellular phone, a navigator, a digital camera, an electronic book, a portable game machine, and various terminals.

In the process of manufacturing such a display device, an ink jet printing process is used to form layers such as an organic light emitting layer and a quantum dot color filter. The inkjet printing process is formed by dropping an organic compound on a substrate to form a predetermined layer. The ink jet printing process is useful because it can be simplified, can shorten the process time, can increase the material use efficiency, and can reduce the manufacturing cost and the cost.

An inkjet printing apparatus may include an inkjet head to which a plurality of nozzles are fixed. The ink jet head is moved while ejecting ink through a plurality of nozzles, thereby forming a predetermined pattern on the substrate. In this case, a large amount of time and a large capacity of memory may be required to derive data on whether or not each of the plurality of nozzles ejects ink at a predetermined position on the substrate.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiments provide an inkjet printing apparatus and an inkjet printing method using the same, which can reduce the time required to derive information about whether or not to eject ink based on the positions of nozzles in an inkjet printing process and can reduce the capacity of a memory.

An embodiment relates to an inkjet printing apparatus including: a plurality of nozzles; an ink jet head to which the plurality of nozzles are fixed; and a control section that controls the plurality of nozzles, the control section including: a full-bitmap configuring unit configured to configure a substrate to be printed as a full-bitmap and store coordinates of each position; a unit area determination unit configured to analyze a repeating pattern on the substrate to specify a unit area; a unit area ink drop pattern creation unit that creates a unit area ink drop pattern by configuring the unit area as a unit bitmap and determining whether ink is dropped or not at each position on the unit bitmap; a nozzle coordinate analysis section that analyzes a coordinate in a first direction and a coordinate in a second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles on the full-scale map; and an ink ejection determining section for determining whether or not to eject ink from the plurality of nozzles by associating m bits lower in the first direction coordinate and n bits lower in the second direction coordinate with the unit area ink drop pattern.

It may be that the unit bit map includes P coordinates in the first direction and Q coordinates in the second direction, the P being 2 ^m Said Q is 2 ⁿ And said m and said n are natural numbers.

It may be that m and n are the same.

It may be that said m and said n are 9.

The unit bitmap may include P × Q unit quadrangles, and a length of one side of the unit quadrangles may be 1 μm or less.

The substrate may include I × J regions having the same pattern, and the unit region determination unit may designate any one of the I × J regions as the unit region, wherein a length of the substrate in the first direction is I times a length of the unit region in the first direction, and a length of the substrate in the second direction is J times a length of the unit region in the second direction.

The time for analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles and determining whether ink is ejected may be shorter than the time for ejecting ink from the plurality of nozzles.

While the plurality of nozzles are ejecting ink, the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles at the next time may be analyzed to determine whether ink is ejected.

The substrate may include a plurality of first color pixels, a plurality of second color pixels, and a plurality of third color pixels, and the unit area ink drop pattern creating section may individually create: a first unit area ink drop pattern indicating positions at which first color ink is dropped onto the first color pixels; a second unit area ink drop pattern indicating positions at which the second color ink is dropped onto the second color pixels; and a third unit area ink drop pattern indicating positions at which the third color ink is dropped onto the third color pixels.

The second direction may be perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of nozzles may be aligned in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction, and the traveling direction of the inkjet head may be inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction.

An embodiment relates to an inkjet printing method including: a step of configuring a substrate to be printed as a full-bitmap and storing coordinates of each position; a step of analyzing the repetitive pattern on the substrate to specify a unit area; a step of forming the unit area as a unit bitmap, and determining whether ink is dropped or not at each position on the unit bitmap to create a unit area ink drop map; analyzing the coordinates in the first direction and the coordinates in the second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles on the full-scale map; and a step of associating m bits lower than the coordinate in the first direction and n bits lower than the coordinate in the second direction with the unit area ink drop pattern to determine whether or not ink is ejected from the plurality of nozzles.

It may be that the unit bit map includes P coordinates in the first direction and Q coordinates in the second direction, the P being 2 ^m Said Q is 2 ⁿ And said m and said n are natural numbers.

It may be that m and n are the same.

It may be that said m and said n are 9.

The unit bitmap may include P × Q unit quadrangles, and a length of one side of the unit quadrangles may be 1 μm or less.

The substrate may include I × J regions having the same pattern, and any one of the I × J regions may be designated as a unit region in the step of designating the unit region.

An inkjet printing method according to an embodiment may further include: and a step of ejecting ink from the plurality of nozzles, in which the time for analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles and determining whether ink is ejected is shorter than the time for ejecting ink from the plurality of nozzles.

While the plurality of nozzles are ejecting ink, the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles at the next time may be analyzed to determine whether ink is ejected.

The substrate may include a plurality of first color pixels, a plurality of second color pixels, and a plurality of third color pixels, and the first color ink may be ejected corresponding to the first color pixels over an entire area of the substrate, the second color ink may be ejected corresponding to the second color pixels over an entire area of the substrate, and the third color ink may be ejected corresponding to the third color pixels over an entire area of the substrate.

The second direction may be perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of nozzles may be aligned in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction, the plurality of nozzles may be fixed to an ink jet head, and a traveling direction of the ink jet head may be inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction.

(effect of the invention)

According to the embodiments, the time for deriving information on whether ink is ejected or not in relation to the positions of the nozzles in the inkjet printing process can be shortened, and the capacity of the memory can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a control section of an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating a substrate as a printing object of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a unit area of a substrate as a printing object of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment together with a unit area of a substrate.

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a region where the first color ink is dropped in a unit region of the substrate.

Fig. 7 is a first unit area ink drop diagram showing positions where the first color ink is dropped.

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a region where the second color ink is dropped in a unit region of the substrate.

Fig. 9 is a second unit area ink drop diagram showing positions where the second color ink is dropped.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a region where the third color ink is dropped in a unit region of the substrate.

Fig. 11 is a third unit area ink drop diagram showing positions at which the third color ink is dropped.

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing a unit area of a substrate as a printing object of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an inkjet printing method according to an embodiment.

Description of the symbols:

110: a substrate; 200: an ink jet head; 210: a nozzle; 300: a control unit; 310: a pretreatment section; 312: a full bitmap forming part; 314: a unit area determination unit; 316: a unit area ink drop pattern creating unit; 320: a nozzle coordinate analysis unit; 330: an ink ejection determining section; UR: a unit area; and (UQ): a unit quadrangle.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the embodiments. The present invention may be realized in various forms, and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

In order to clearly explain the present invention, portions that are not related to the description are omitted, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

The size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of explanation, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to the drawings. In the drawings, the thickness is exaggeratedly shown in order to clearly show the layers and regions. In the drawings, the thicknesses of portions of layers and regions are exaggeratedly shown for convenience of description.

Further, when a layer, a film, a region, a plate, or the like is partially located on or over other portions, it includes not only a case of being directly located on the other portions but also a case of having the other portions therebetween. Conversely, when a certain portion is directly on another portion, it means that there is no other portion therebetween. In addition, being located on or above the portion as the reference means being located on or below the portion as the reference, and does not necessarily mean being located on or above the gravity direction side.

In addition, when a certain component is included in a part of the specification, unless otherwise specified, the inclusion of another component is not excluded, but means that another component may be included.

In the entire specification, "on the plane" refers to a case where the target portion is viewed from above, and "on the cross section" refers to a case where the cross section of the target portion is vertically taken when viewed from the side.

An inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment is described below with reference to fig. 1 to 11.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment, and fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control portion of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a substrate as a printing object of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment, fig. 4 is a plan view showing a unit area of the substrate as the printing object of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment, and fig. 5 is a plan view showing the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment together with the unit area of the substrate. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a region on the substrate where the first color ink is dropped in a unit region, and fig. 7 is a first unit region ink drop diagram showing a position where the first color ink is dropped. Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a region on the substrate where the second color ink is dropped in a unit region, and fig. 9 is a second unit region ink drop diagram showing a position where the second color ink is dropped. Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a region on the substrate where the third color ink is dropped in a unit region, and fig. 11 is a third unit region ink drop diagram showing a position where the third color ink is dropped.

As shown in fig. 1, an inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a plurality of nozzles 210 and an inkjet head 200 to which the plurality of nozzles 210 are fixed.

A plurality of nozzles 210 may be arranged at regular intervals. The plurality of nozzles 210 may be arranged in a row. However, the plurality of nozzles 210 may be arranged in two or more rows. Each of the plurality of nozzles 210 may include a hole capable of ejecting ink in a direction, and the hole may be located in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 110 to be printed, for example. However, this is merely an example, and the ink ejection directions of the plurality of nozzles 210 may be different. The ink ejection direction of the plurality of nozzles 210 may be a direction inclined with respect to the substrate 110, instead of a direction perpendicular to the substrate 110. The plurality of nozzles 210 may include circular holes, but this is merely an example, and the shape of the ink ejection ports of the plurality of nozzles 210 may be changed in various ways. The number and size of the plurality of nozzles 210 included in the inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment may be variously changed, and the printing resolution may be different according to the number and size of the nozzles 210.

The inkjet head 200 may have a bar shape elongated in one direction. A plurality of nozzles 210 may be fixed to one side surface of the inkjet head 200. The substrate 110 to be printed may be formed in a polygonal shape. For example, the planar shape of the substrate 110 may be configured as a quadrangle including two sides aligned with the first direction D1 and two sides aligned with the second direction D2. The second direction D2 may be a direction perpendicular with respect to the first direction D1. At this time, the inkjet head 200 may be configured to be long extended in a direction inclined with respect to the first and second directions D1 and D2. The ink jet head 200 is movable in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the ink jet head 200. That is, the inkjet head 200 may move in a direction inclined with respect to the first and second directions D1 and D2. However, this is just an example, and the inkjet head 200 may be configured to be long extended in a direction parallel to the first direction D1 and movable in the second direction D2. Alternatively, the inkjet head 200 may be configured to be long extending in a direction side by side with the second direction D2, and may be movable in the first direction D1. When the ink jet head 200 is disposed to extend in a direction parallel to the first direction D1 or the second direction D2, the nozzle 210 can be divided into a nozzle 210 that is used and a nozzle 210 that is not used among the plurality of nozzles 210. That is, a portion of the nozzles 210 may be continuously used, and another portion of the nozzles 210 may not be continuously used, and thus is limited in maximizing the use ratio of the nozzles 210. Therefore, the use efficiency of the nozzles 210 can be improved by arranging and moving the ink jet head 200 of the ink jet printing apparatus according to the embodiment in the direction inclined with respect to the side of the substrate 110.

In comparison with the case where the ink jet head unit 200 is arranged and moved parallel to the side of the substrate 110, when the ink jet head unit 200 is arranged and moved obliquely with respect to the side of the substrate 110, an algorithm for determining whether or not the ink is ejected from the plurality of nozzles 210 may become more complicated. As shown in fig. 2, the inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment may further include a control section 300 that controls the plurality of nozzles 210. The control unit 300 simplifies the algorithm for determining whether or not ink is ejected from the plurality of nozzles 210, and can reduce the time required to derive information about whether or not ink is ejected, and can reduce the capacity of the memory.

The control unit 300 of the inkjet printing apparatus according to an embodiment may include a preprocessor 310 that analyzes a pattern on the substrate 110 to be printed, a nozzle coordinate analysis unit 320 that analyzes positions of the plurality of nozzles 210, and an ink ejection determination unit 330 that determines whether or not the plurality of nozzles 210 are ejected with ink.

The preprocessing section 310 may include: a full-bitmap configuring unit 312 configured to configure the substrate 110 as a full-bitmap and store coordinates of each position; a unit area determination unit 314 that analyzes the repetitive pattern on the substrate 110 to specify a unit area; and a unit area ink drop pattern creating unit 316 configured to create a unit area ink drop pattern by configuring a unit area as a unit bitmap (bit map) and determining whether ink drops are to be made at each position on the unit bitmap.

The full-bitmap constituting parts 312 may divide the substrate 110 into a lattice shape along the first and second directions D1 and D2. That is, the substrate 110 may be divided into regions of a quadrangular shape including two sides juxtaposed to the first direction D1 and two sides juxtaposed to the second direction D2. At this time, the positions of the respective regions may be expressed as inherent coordinates related to the order in the first and second directions D1 and D2. The first direction D1 may be a row direction, and the second direction D2 may be a column direction. Each coordinate may be represented as a binary number. For example, the coordinates of the area located at row 1, column 1 may be represented as (0, 0), the coordinates of the area located at row 1, column 2 may be represented as (0, 01), the coordinates of the area located at row 1, column 3 may be represented as (0, 10), and the coordinates of the area located at row 1, column 4 may be represented as (0, 11). The coordinates of the area located at row 2, column 1 may be represented as (01, 0), the coordinates of the area located at row 2, column 2 may be represented as (01, 01), the coordinates of the area located at row 2, column 3 may be represented as (01, 10), and the coordinates of the area located at row 2, column 4 may be represented as (01, 11). The coordinates of the area located at row 4 and column 4 may be represented as (11, 11), and the coordinates of the area located at row 512 and column 512 may be represented as (111111111 ). The full-bitmap constituting parts 312 may store coordinates associated with positions on the plane of the substrate 110, respectively.

The substrate 110 as a printing object may be a substrate for a display device, and may include a plurality of pixels as a basic unit of screen display. At this time, the plurality of pixels may be configured to have a repetitive pattern. The unit area decision section 314 can analyze the repeated pattern on the substrate 110 and thereby specify the unit area UR. As shown in fig. 3, the substrate 110 may be divided into I regions having the same width along the first direction D1, and may be divided into J regions having the same width along the second direction D2. Accordingly, the substrate 110 may include I × J regions having the same size along the first and second directions D1 and D2. The I × J areas may have the same pattern, and one of the I × J areas may be designated as a unit area UR.

The length in the first direction D1 of the substrate 110 may be about I times the length in the first direction D1 of the unit area UR. The length in the second direction D2 of the substrate 110 may be about J times the length in the second direction D2 of the unit area UR. The substrate 110 may include a display area displaying a picture and a peripheral area located at a periphery of the display area. In the above, the length in the first direction D1 of the substrate 110 represents the length in the first direction D1 of the display area, and the length in the second direction D2 of the substrate 110 represents the length in the second direction D2 of the display area.

The unit area ink drop pattern creating unit 316 may first configure the unit area UR as a unit bitmap. As shown in fig. 4, the unit area ink droplet pattern making unit 316 may divide the unit area UR into a grid shape along the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The unit area UR may be divided into P areas having the same width along the first direction D1, and may be divided into Q areas having the same width along the second direction D2. Accordingly, the unit area UR may include P × Q areas having the same size along the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. Each of the P × Q regions is referred to as a unit quadrangle UQ. The unit quadrangle UQ may have a shape including two sides juxtaposed to the first direction D1 and two sides juxtaposed to the second direction D2. The size of the unit quadrangle UQ constituting the unit region UR may be substantially the same as the size of the region represented by the coordinates of the full bitmap.

The length of one side of the unit quadrangle UQ may be about 1 μm or less. However, the resolution of the ink drop pattern in the unit area may be changed according to the length of one side of the unit quadrangle UQ. The unit quadrangle UQ may be configured as a rectangle or a square. The length in the first direction D1 of the unit region UR may be about P times the length in the first direction D1 of the unit quadrangle UQ. The length in the second direction D2 of the unit area UR may be about Q times the length in the second direction D2 of the unit quadrangle UQ. At this time, P and Q may be squared numbers of 2, as shown in math figures 1 and 2. P may be the m power of 2 and Q may be the n power of 2.

[ mathematical formula 1 ]

P＝2 ^m (m is a natural number)

[ math figure 2 ]

Q＝2 ⁿ (n is a natural number)

In this case, m and n may be the same, and thus P and Q may also be the same. For example, P and Q may be 16 to the power of 4 of 2. That is, the unit area UR may include 16 × 16 (= 256) unit quadrangles UQ.

A plurality of pixels may be located within the unit area UR. The plurality of pixels may include a first color pixel R, a second color pixel G, and a third color pixel B. The first color pixel R may display red, the second color pixel G may display green, and the third color pixel B may display blue. However, this is merely an example, and the plurality of pixels may include pixels displaying colors other than red, green, and blue. For example, the plurality of pixels may also include a white pixel. Alternatively, the plurality of pixels may include a pixel displaying cyan, a pixel displaying magenta, and a pixel displaying yellow.

For example, two first color pixels R, four second color pixels G, and two third color pixels B may be located within the unit area UR. In the unit area UR, the second color pixels G may be arranged at predetermined intervals along the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. Further, the first color pixel R and the third color pixel B may be arranged at predetermined intervals along the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The first color pixel R and the second color pixel G may be disposed adjacent in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The second color pixel G and the third color pixel B may be disposed adjacent to each other in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The arrangement of the plurality of pixels is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made. The substrate 110 may include I × J regions, and the arrangement of the plurality of pixels may be the same in the I × J regions.

As shown in fig. 5, the inkjet head 200 may be located on the unit area UR, and the plurality of nozzles 210 may be arrayed in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. A portion of the plurality of nozzles 210 may overlap any one of the plurality of pixels. Another portion of the plurality of nozzles 210 may not overlap the plurality of pixels. In this case, whether or not the ink is ejected from each nozzle 210 may be determined according to whether or not each nozzle 210 overlaps with a plurality of pixels. When the first color ink is dropped, the nozzle 210 may eject ink at a portion overlapping with the first color pixel R and not eject ink at the remaining portion. When the second color ink is dropped, the nozzle 210 may eject ink at a portion overlapping with the second color pixel G and not eject ink at the remaining portion. When the third color ink is dropped, the nozzle 210 may eject ink at a portion overlapping with the third color pixel B and not eject ink at the remaining portion. Therefore, the unit area ink drop pattern creating unit 316 can create a first unit area ink drop pattern indicating a position where the first color ink is dropped onto the first color pixel R, a second unit area ink drop pattern indicating a position where the second color ink is dropped onto the second color pixel G, and a third unit area ink drop pattern indicating a position where the third color ink is dropped onto the third color pixel B, separately.

As shown in fig. 6, when the first color ink is to be dropped, the nozzles 210 corresponding to the positions of the 3 rd row, the 4 th row, the 3 rd column to the 4 th row, the 5 th row, the 2 nd column to the 5 th row, the 6 th row, the 2 nd column to the 6 th row, the 7 th row, the 3 rd column to the 7 th row, the 5 th column, the 8 th row, the 4 th column, the 10 th row, the 11 th row, the 10 th column to the 11 th row, the 12 th row, the 9 th column to the 12 th row, the 13 th row, the 9 th column to the 13 th row, the 13 th column, the 14 th row, the 10 th column to the 14 th row, the 12 th column, and the 15 th row, the 11 th column in the unit region UR can be set to eject the first color ink.

As shown in fig. 7, the first unit area ink drop diagram indicates whether the first color ink is ejected or not in relation to the coordinates in the unit area UR. The coordinates may be represented as binary numbers. For example, when (10, 11) as binary coordinates corresponding to row 3, column 4 is input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. When (11, 10), (11, 11), (11, 100) as binary coordinates corresponding to the 4 th row, the 3 rd column, to the 4 th row, the 5 th column, are inputted, 1 can be outputted as a signal for ejecting ink. When (100, 01), (100, 10), (100, 11), (100 ), and (100, 101) are input as binary coordinates corresponding to the 5 th row, the 2 nd column, to the 5 th row, and the 6 th column, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. Similarly, when binary coordinates corresponding to the 6 th row, 2 nd column to 6 th row, 6 th column to 7 th row, 5 th column to 7 th row, 4 th column to 8 th row, 11 th row, 10 th column to 11 th row, 12 th column to 12 th row, 9 th column to 12 th row, 13 th row, 9 th column to 13 th row, 10 th column to 14 th row, 12 th column and 15 th row, 11 th column are input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. Further, if binary coordinates corresponding to the remaining positions except for row 3, column 4, row 4, column 3 to column 4, column 5, row 5, column 2 to column 5, row 6, column 2 to column 6, row 7, column 3 to column 7, column 8, column 4, column 10, column 11, row 11, column 10 to column 11, column 12, column 9 to column 12, column 13, column 9 to column 13, column 14, column 10 to column 14, column 12, and column 15, column 11 are input, 0 can be output as a signal for non-ejection.

As shown in fig. 8, when the second color ink is to be dropped, the nozzles 210 corresponding to the positions of the 1 st row, the 8 th column and the 1 st row, the 14 th column, the 2 nd row, the 7 th column to the 2 nd row, the 9 th column, the 2 nd row, the 13 th column to the 2 nd row, the 15 th column, the 3 rd row, the 6 th column to the 3 rd row, the 8 rd column, the 3 rd row, the 14 th column to the 3 rd row, the 16 th column, the 4 th row, the 7 th column and the 4 th row, the 15 th column, the 8 th row, the 7 th column and the 8 th column, the 9 th row, the 6 th column to the 9 th row, the 8 th column, the 9 th row, the 14 th column to the 9 th row, the 16 th column, the 10 th row, the 7 th column to the 10 th row, the 13 th column to the 10 th column, the 15 th column, the 11 th row, the 8 th column and the 11 th row, and the 14 th column in the unit region UR can be set to the second color ink can be discharged.

As shown in fig. 9, the second unit area ink drop diagram indicates whether the second color ink is ejected or not in relation to the coordinates in the unit area UR. For example, when (0, 111) and (0, 1110) which are binary coordinates corresponding to the 1 st row, the 8 th column and the 1 st row, the 14 th column are inputted, 1 can be outputted as a signal for ejecting ink. When (1, 110), (1, 111), and (1, 1000) which are binary coordinates corresponding to the 7 th column in row 2 to the 9 th column in row 2 are input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. When (1, 1100), (1, 1101), and (1, 1110) which are binary coordinates corresponding to the 13 th column in row 2 to the 15 th column in row 2 are input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. Similarly, when binary coordinates corresponding to row 3, column 6 to row 3, column 8, row 3, column 14 to row 3, column 16, row 4, column 7 and column 4, column 15, row 8, column 7 and column 8, column 15, row 9, column 6 to column 9, column 14 to column 9, column 16, row 10, column 7 to column 10, row 10, column 13 to column 10, column 15, row 11, column 8 and column 11, column 14 and column 11 are input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. Further, when binary coordinates corresponding to positions other than the 1 st row, 8 th column, 1 st row, 14 th column, 2 nd row, 7 th column, to 2 nd row, 9 th column, 2 nd row, 13 th column, to 2 nd row, 15 th column, 3 rd row, 6 th column, to 3 rd row, 8 th column, to 3 rd row, 14 th column, to 3 rd row, 16 th column, 4 th row, 7 th column, to 4 th row, 15 th column, 8 th row, 7 th column, to 8 th row, 15 th column, 9 th row, 6 th column, to 9 th row, 14 th column, to 9 th row, 16 th column, 10 th row, 7 th column, to 10 th row, 9 th column, to 10 th row, 15 th column, and 11 th row, 8 th column, and 11 th row, 14 th column are input, 0 can be output as a signal that ink is not ejected.

As shown in fig. 10, when the third color ink is to be dropped, the nozzles 210 corresponding to the positions of the 3 rd row, the 11 th column, the 4 th row, the 10 th column to the 4 th row, the 12 th column, the 5 th row, the 9 th column to the 5 th row, the 13 th column, the 6 th row, the 8 th column, the 9 th row, the 11 th column, the 10 th row, the 4 th column, the 11 th row, the 3 rd column to the 11 th row, the 5 th column, the 12 th row, the 2 nd column to the 12 th row, the 6 th column, the 13 th row, the 1 st column to the 13 th row, the 7 th column, the 14 th row, the 2 nd column to the 14 th row, the 6 th column, the 15 th row, the 3 rd column to the 15 th row, the 5 th column, and the 16 th row, the 4 th column in the unit region UR can be set to discharge the third color ink.

As shown in fig. 11, the third unit area ink drop diagram indicates whether or not the third color ink is ejected in relation to the coordinates in the unit area UR. For example, if (10, 1010) which is a binary coordinate corresponding to the 3 rd row and 11 th column is input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. When (11, 1001), (11, 1010), and (11, 1011) are input as binary coordinates corresponding to the 4 th row, the 10 th column to the 4 th row, the 12 th column, 1 is output as a signal for ejecting ink. When (100, 1000), (100, 1001), (100, 1010), (100, 1011), and (100, 1100) which are binary coordinates corresponding to the 5 th row, the 9 th column, to the 5 th row, the 13 th column are input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. Similarly, when binary coordinates corresponding to the 6 th row, the 8 th column to the 6 th row, the 14 th column, the 7 th row, the 9 th column to the 7 th row, the 13 th row, the 8 th row, the 10 th column to the 8 th row, the 12 th column, the 9 th row, the 11 th column, the 10 th row, the 4 th column, the 11 th row, the 3 rd column to the 11 th row, the 5 th column, the 12 th row, the 2 nd column to the 12 th row, the 6 th row, the 13 th row, the 1 st column to the 13 th row, the 7 th row, the 14 th row, the 2 nd column to the 14 th row, the 6 th column, the 15 th row, the 3 rd column to the 15 th row, the 5 th column and the 16 th row, the 4 th column are input, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink. Further, when binary coordinates corresponding to positions other than row 3, row 11, row 4, row 10, column 4, row 12, row 5, row 9, column 5, row 8, column 6, column 7, row 9, column 7, column 13, row 8, column 10, column 8, row 12, row 9, column 10, column 4, row 11, column 3, column 11, column 5, row 12, column 2, column 12, column 6, row 13, column 1, column 13, column 7, row 14, column 2, column 14, column 6, row 15, column 3, column 15, column 5, and column 16, column 4 are input, 0 can be output as a signal not ejecting ink.

As described above, the preprocessor 310 can create the unit region ink drop pattern for each ink color by storing the coordinates corresponding to the entire region of the substrate 110 and specifying the unit region UR.

The nozzle coordinate analysis section 320 may analyze the position of each of the plurality of nozzles 210 fixed to the inkjet head 200. The inkjet head 200 may correspond to a predetermined position on the substrate 110, and the plurality of nozzles 210 may respectively correspond to predetermined coordinates on a full-scale map of the substrate 110. The nozzle coordinate analysis section 320 may receive the transmission of information on the coordinates of each position of the substrate 110 from the full bitmap constituting section 312 of the preprocessing section 310, and may find the coordinates corresponding to each nozzle 210. At this time, the nozzle coordinate analysis part 320 may analyze the coordinates in the first direction D1 and the coordinates in the second direction D2 of each of the plurality of nozzles 210. At this time, the coordinates may be expressed as binary numbers. For example, in the case where the nozzle 210 is located at a position corresponding to the 1000 th row and the 1000 th column of the substrate 110, the coordinates of the nozzle 210 may be output as (1111100111 ).

The ink ejection determining unit 330 may receive the transmission of the unit region ink drop pattern from the unit region ink drop pattern creating unit 316 of the preprocessing unit 310, and may receive the transmission of the coordinates of the nozzles 210 from the nozzle coordinate analyzing unit 320. The ink ejection determining unit 330 may determine whether ink is ejected from the nozzles 210 based on the received information. When information on whether ink is ejected or not is stored corresponding to the coordinates in the first direction D1 and the coordinates in the second direction D2 on the full-scale image, the calculation time may be increased and the memory capacity may be increased. The inkjet printing apparatus according to one embodiment may store only information on whether ink is ejected or not corresponding to the coordinates in the first direction D1 and the coordinates in the second direction D2 on the unit bitmap, and determine whether ink is ejected or not corresponding to the nozzles 210 using only the lower partial bits of the coordinates corresponding to the positions of the nozzles 210. The unit bitmap may include P coordinates in the first direction D1 and may include Q coordinates in the second direction D2, P may be composed of a number of powers m of 2, and Q may be composed of a number of powers n of 2. In this case, the ink ejection determining unit 330 may determine whether or not the ink is ejected from each of the plurality of nozzles 210 by associating the m bits lower in the coordinate in the first direction D1 and the n bits lower in the coordinate in the second direction D2 of each of the plurality of nozzles 210 with the unit area ink drop pattern. Therefore, the inkjet printing apparatus according to one embodiment can significantly reduce the calculation time and the memory capacity for determining whether or not to eject ink.

For example, when the position of the nozzle 210 corresponds to the coordinates (10, 11) in the case of dropping the first color ink, 1 may be output as a signal for ejecting the ink. The substrate 110 may include a plurality of regions, and the plurality of regions may each have the same pattern as the unit region UR. Therefore, in the case where the unit area UR includes 16 × 16 (= 256) unit quadrangles UQ, whether ink is ejected or not in the coordinates (0, 0) may be the same as whether ink is ejected or not in the coordinates (10000, 0), (1, 10000), (10000 ), and the like. Similarly, whether or not ink is ejected at the coordinates (10, 11) may be the same as whether or not ink is ejected at the coordinates (10010, 11), (10, 10011), (10010, 10011), (110010, 110011), and the like. Therefore, when the position of the nozzle 210 corresponds to the coordinates (10010, 11), (10, 10011), (10010, 10011), (110010, 110011), and the like, 1 can be output as a signal for ejecting ink.

For example, the coordinates in the first direction D1 and the coordinates in the second direction D2 on the full-bitmap may be respectively composed of 32 bits. At this time, since whether or not the ink is ejected from the nozzle 210 can be determined using the lower 4 bits of the coordinates in the first direction D1 and the lower 4 bits of the coordinates in the second direction D2, the calculation time and the memory capacity for determining whether or not the ink is ejected can be greatly reduced.

In the above, the case where m and n are 4 was described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the values of m and n may be variously changed. m and n may also have different values. m and n are natural numbers. Next, a modified example of the values of m and n will be described with reference to fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing a unit area of a substrate as a printing object of the inkjet printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

As shown in fig. 12, the unit area UR may be divided into lattice shapes along the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. The unit area UR may be divided into 2 having the same width along the first direction D1 ⁹ (= 512) regions, and may be divided into 2 having the same width along the second direction D2 ⁹ (= 512) areas. That is, m and n may be 9, respectively. At this time, the unit area UR may include 512 × 512 (= 262144) areas having the same size along the first direction D1 and the second direction D2. Each of the 512 × 512 (= 262144) areas may be referred to as a unit quadrangle UQ. The unit quadrangle UQ may have a shape including two sides juxtaposed to the first direction D1And the shape of two sides alongside the second direction D2.

The length of one side of the unit quadrangle UQ may be about 1 μm or less. However, the resolution of the ink drop pattern in the unit area may be changed according to the length of one side of the unit quadrangle UQ. The unit quadrangle UQ may be configured as a rectangle or a square. The length in the first direction D1 of the unit region UR may be about 512 times the length in the first direction D1 of the unit quadrangle UQ. The length in the second direction D2 of the unit area UR may be about 512 times the length in the second direction D2 of the unit quadrangle UQ. For example, the length of each side of the unit area UR may be about 372 μm. At this time, the length of each side of the unit quadrangle UQ may be about 0.73 μm (= 372/512). That is, the length of one side of the unit quadrangle UQ may be about 1 μm or less. The values of m and n may be appropriately selected in consideration of the size, resolution, and the like of the unit area UR.

The ink ejection determining unit 330 may determine whether or not the ink is ejected from each of the plurality of nozzles 210 by associating the lower 9 bits of the coordinates in the first direction D1 and the lower 9 bits of the coordinates in the second direction D2 of each of the plurality of nozzles 210 with the unit area ink drop pattern.

When the unit area UR includes 512 × 512 (= 262144) unit quadrangles UQ, whether ink is ejected or not at the coordinates (0, 0) can be the same as whether ink is ejected or not at the coordinates (1000000000, 0), (0, 1000000000), (1000000000 ), (110000000000000, 110000000000000), (101000000000, 1010000000000000), and the like. Therefore, on the full-scale map, as the output value of whether ink is ejected or not at the coordinates (1000000000, 0), (0, 1000000000), (1000000000 ), (11000000000, 11000000000), (1010000000000000 ), or the like, a signal of whether ink is ejected or not at the coordinates (0, 0) in the unit region UR can be output.

As described above, the ink ejection determining unit 330 can determine whether or not the ink is ejected from the plurality of nozzles 210. The plurality of nozzles 210 can receive the transmission of the output value for whether or not ink is ejected from the ink ejection determining section 330, and depending on the output value, some of the nozzles 210 can eject ink and other nozzles 210 can not eject ink. When the ink ejection from the plurality of nozzles 210 fixed to the ink jet head 200 is completed, the ink jet head 200 is moved. The inkjet head 200 stops after moving a predetermined distance, and the nozzle coordinate analysis part 320 analyzes the positions of the plurality of nozzles 210 in the stopped place again. The ink ejection determining unit 330 determines whether or not to eject ink from the plurality of nozzles 210 at the point where the ink ejection is stopped again. Based on the output value of whether ink is ejected or not, some of the plurality of nozzles 210 eject ink.

The time for analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles 210 at a point where the inkjet head 200 stops and determining whether ink is ejected or not may be shorter than the time for ejecting ink at the point where the plurality of nozzles 210 stop. At this time, while the plurality of nozzles 210 are ejecting ink at a time, the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles 210 at a position where the inkjet head 200 is to be located at the next time are analyzed, and whether ink is ejected or not can be determined. That is, the process of ejecting ink and the calculation for deriving whether ink is ejected at the next time can be performed simultaneously. Therefore, the time for performing the ink jet printing process can be significantly shortened.

An inkjet printing method according to an embodiment is described below with reference to fig. 13.

Fig. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an inkjet printing method according to an embodiment.

As shown in fig. 13, an inkjet printing method according to an embodiment may include a step of configuring a substrate as a printing target as a full bitmap and storing coordinates of respective positions (S1100). The substrate may be divided into a lattice shape along a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the positions of the divided regions may be expressed in coordinates. The coordinates may be represented as binary numbers.

Then, the repetitive pattern on the substrate may be analyzed to designate a unit area (S1200). The substrate may be a substrate for a display device, and may include a plurality of pixels as a basic unit of screen display. At this time, the plurality of pixels may be configured to have a repetitive pattern. The substrate may be divided into a plurality of regions having the same pattern using a repetitive pattern of a plurality of pixels. The substrate may include I × J regions having the same size along the first direction and the second direction. The I × J areas may have the same pattern, and one of the I × J areas may be designated as a unit area.

Then, a unit area is configured as a unit bit map, and whether ink is to be dropped or not is determined for each position on the unit bit map, thereby creating a unit area ink drop map (S1300). The unit area may be divided into lattice shapes along the first and second directions. The unit area may include P × Q areas having the same size along the first direction and the second direction. Each of the P × Q regions is referred to as a unit quadrangle. The size of the unit quadrangle constituting the unit area may be substantially the same as the size of the area represented by the coordinates of the full bitmap. The length of one side of the unit quadrangle may be about 1 μm or less, but is not limited thereto. P and Q may be the squares of 2. P may be the m-th power of 2 and Q may be the n-th power of 2. m and n may be natural numbers, and may be the same or different. For example, m and n may be 9. At this time, the unit area may be composed of 512 × 512 (= 262144) unit quadrangles having the same size.

A plurality of pixels may be located within a unit area. The plurality of pixels may include a first color pixel, a second color pixel, and a third color pixel. When a plurality of nozzles are located on the unit area, a portion of the nozzles may overlap the pixels, and another portion of the nozzles may not overlap the pixels. The portion overlapping the pixel may be determined as a portion where ink is ejected, and the portion not overlapping the pixel may be determined as a portion where ink is not ejected. Based on this determination, an ink drop pattern for each unit area can be created. The unit area ink drop pattern can be created for each pixel. That is, a first unit area ink drop pattern indicating a position where the first color ink is dropped on the first color pixel, a second unit area ink drop pattern indicating a position where the second color ink is dropped on the second color pixel, and a third unit area ink drop pattern indicating a position where the third color ink is dropped on the third color pixel may be separately created.

Then, the coordinates in the first direction and the coordinates in the second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles on the full-bitmap may be analyzed (S1400). The plurality of nozzles may correspond to predetermined coordinates on a full-scale map of the substrate when the inkjet head corresponds to a predetermined position on the substrate. At this time, the coordinates in the first direction and the coordinates in the second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles may be represented as binary numbers.

Then, the m bits lower than the coordinate in the first direction and the n bits lower than the coordinate in the second direction are associated with the unit area ink drop pattern, and whether or not ink is ejected from the plurality of nozzles is determined (S1500). At this time, the first unit area ink drop pattern can be used to eject the first color ink from the plurality of nozzles corresponding to the first color pixels over the entire area of the substrate. Next, the second unit area ink drop pattern is used to eject the second color ink from the plurality of nozzles corresponding to the second color pixels over the entire area of the substrate. Next, the third unit area ink drop pattern is used to eject the third color ink from the plurality of nozzles corresponding to the third color pixels over the entire area of the substrate.

The time for analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles at a point where the inkjet head stops and determining whether or not ink is ejected may be shorter than the time for ejecting ink at the point by the plurality of nozzles. In this case, during the period in which the plurality of nozzles eject ink, the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles at the position where the ink ejection head is to be located at the next time are analyzed, and whether ink is to be ejected or not can be determined. That is, the process of ejecting ink and the calculation for deriving whether ink is ejected at the next time can be performed simultaneously. Therefore, the time for performing the ink jet printing process can be significantly shortened.

Step S1100 of configuring the substrate as a full bitmap and storing the addresses of the respective positions, step S1200 of storing the unit regions, and step S1300 of creating the unit region ink drop map are preprocessing steps, and can be implemented before the ink drop process is started.

Step S1400 of analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles and step S1500 of determining whether or not the plurality of nozzles are ejecting ink may be repeatedly executed from the initial position of the ink ejection head along the movement direction to the point of ending. Step S1400 of analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles and step S1500 of determining whether or not the plurality of nozzles eject ink may be performed together with the progress of ink drop.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention defined in the claims are also within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (20)

1. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of nozzles;

an ink jet head to which the plurality of nozzles are fixed; and

a control section for controlling the plurality of nozzles,

the control section includes:

a full-bitmap forming part for forming a full bitmap of the substrate to be printed

Storing coordinates of each position;

a unit area determination unit configured to analyze a repeating pattern on the substrate to specify a unit area;

a unit area ink drop pattern creation unit that creates a unit area ink drop pattern by configuring the unit area as a unit bitmap and determining whether ink is dropped or not at each position on the unit bitmap;

a nozzle coordinate analysis section that analyzes a coordinate in a first direction and a coordinate in a second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles on the full-scale map; and

and an ink ejection determining section for determining whether or not to eject ink from the plurality of nozzles by associating m bits lower in the first direction coordinate and n bits lower in the second direction coordinate with the unit area ink drop pattern.

2. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1,

the unit bit map including P coordinates in the first direction and Q coordinates in the second direction,

said P is 2 ^m ，

Q is 2 ⁿ ，

The m and the n are natural numbers.

3. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2,

said m and said n are the same.

4. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 3,

said m and said n are 9.

5. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2,

the unit bitmap includes P × Q unit quadrilaterals,

the length of one side of the unit quadrangle is less than 1 μm.

6. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2,

a length of the substrate in the first direction is I times a length of the unit area in the first direction,

a length of the substrate in the second direction is J times a length of the unit area in the second direction,

the substrate includes I x J regions,

the I x J regions have the same pattern,

the unit area determination unit designates any one of the I × J areas as the unit area.

7. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2,

the time for analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles and determining whether ink is ejected is shorter than the time for ejecting ink from the plurality of nozzles.

8. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 7,

while the plurality of nozzles are ejecting ink, the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles at the next time are analyzed to determine whether ink is ejected or not.

9. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2,

the substrate includes a plurality of first color pixels, a plurality of second color pixels, and a plurality of third color pixels,

the unit area ink drop pattern creating section creates:

a first unit area ink drop pattern indicating positions at which first color ink is dropped onto the first color pixels;

a second unit area ink drop pattern indicating positions where the second color ink is dropped onto the second color pixels; and

and a third unit area ink drop pattern indicating positions at which the third color ink is dropped onto the third color pixels.

10. Inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 2,

the second direction is perpendicular relative to the first direction,

the plurality of nozzles are aligned in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction,

the traveling direction of the inkjet head is inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction.

11. A method of inkjet printing comprising:

a step of configuring a substrate to be printed as a full-bitmap and storing coordinates of each position;

a step of analyzing the repetitive pattern on the substrate to specify a unit area;

a step of forming the unit area as a unit bitmap, and determining whether ink is dropped or not at each position on the unit bitmap to create a unit area ink drop map;

analyzing the coordinates in the first direction and the coordinates in the second direction of each of the plurality of nozzles on the full-scale map; and

and a step of associating m bits lower than the coordinate in the first direction and n bits lower than the coordinate in the second direction with the unit area ink drop pattern to determine whether or not to eject ink from the plurality of nozzles.

12. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 11,

the unit bit map including P coordinates in the first direction and Q coordinates in the second direction,

p is 2 ^m ，

Q is 2 ⁿ ，

The m and the n are natural numbers.

13. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 12,

said m and said n are the same.

14. The inkjet printing method according to claim 13,

said m and said n are 9.

15. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 12,

the unit bitmap includes P × Q unit quadrilaterals,

the length of one side of the unit quadrangle is less than 1 μm.

16. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 12,

a length of the substrate in the first direction is I times a length of the unit area in the first direction,

a length of the substrate in the second direction is J times a length of the unit area in the second direction,

the substrate includes I x J regions,

the I x J regions have the same pattern,

in the step of designating the unit area, any one of the I × J areas is designated as a unit area.

17. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 12, further comprising:

a step of ejecting ink from the plurality of nozzles,

the time for analyzing the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles and determining whether ink is ejected is shorter than the time for ejecting ink from the plurality of nozzles.

18. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 17,

while the plurality of nozzles are ejecting ink, the coordinates of each of the plurality of nozzles at the next time are analyzed to determine whether ink is ejected.

19. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 12,

the substrate includes a plurality of first color pixels, a plurality of second color pixels, and a plurality of third color pixels,

ejecting a first color ink corresponding to the first color pixel over the entire area of the substrate,

ejecting a second color ink corresponding to the second color pixel over the entire area of the substrate,

and ejecting a third color ink corresponding to the third color pixel over the entire area of the substrate.

20. The method of inkjet printing according to claim 12,

the second direction is perpendicular relative to the first direction,

the plurality of nozzles are aligned in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction,

the plurality of nozzles are fixed to an ink ejection head,

the traveling direction of the inkjet head is inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction.

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