CN117092889A - System and method for aligning and fixing pixels in splicing areas of adjacent DMDs - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and a method for aligning and fixing pixels in adjacent DMD splicing areas, wherein the system comprises the following steps: the device comprises at least one pair of adjacently arranged exposure heads, a support frame, at least one pair of adjacently arranged sliding blocks and an image detection module, wherein the image detection module is arranged below the exposure heads and is used for respectively acquiring images formed when the adjacent exposure heads are lightened, and the images are provided with pixels generated by a DMD array so as to enable a user to compare the overlapping widths of the pixels between the images of the two adjacent exposure heads; the driving module is provided with the guide groove on the support frame, and is provided with the sliding block which limits the exposure head to move only in the X-axis direction of the guide groove, and the detection and adjustment functions of the image detection module and the driving module are matched, so that the rotating inclination angle of the DMD cannot be changed excessively when the alignment operation of adjacent DMD pixels is adjusted, the difficulty of precise adjustment of the exposure head is reduced, and the precision and efficiency of the precise adjustment are improved.

Description

System and method for aligning and fixing pixels in splicing areas of adjacent DMDs

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field related to digital exposure machines, in particular to a system and a method for aligning and fixing pixels in splicing areas of adjacent DMDs.

Background

When the adjacent DMD (digital micromirror) splicing regions of the conventional digital exposure machine are not provided with corresponding methods to align pixels, but the adjacent DMD pixels 111 cannot be aligned, in order to enable the exposure patterns of multiple DMDs to be complete, the adjacent DMD splicing regions easily generate a row of pixels which are not spliced but are lapped together, and the exposure energy of the lapping regions is twice that of the lapping regions, so that the lapping regions are poorly exposed, as shown in fig. 1. Since the DMD pixels 111 are at 10 microns or less, and the deviation of the mounting positions of the DMD obtained by the machined structural member is at least about 20 microns, the alignment of adjacent DMD pixels cannot be ensured simply by the machining precision, and other parameters are easily affected to change if manual fine tuning is added to align the DMD pixels 111, namely: the manual fine tuning can change the rotation dip angle of the DMD, and then the pixel is difficult to align simultaneously and the rotation dip angle of the DMD is ensured to be proper, so that measures for ensuring the rotation dip angle of the DMD to discard the alignment of the pixels are often taken in the traditional digital exposure machine, and overlapping repeated exposure areas with the width at least more than 0 but less than the width of one DMD pixel are easy to generate under the condition that the alignment of adjacent DMD pixels cannot be ensured.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. Therefore, the invention provides an alignment and alignment system based on the pixels of the splicing area of the adjacent DMDs, which can solve the problem that the rotation inclination angle of the DMDs is not out of tolerance while aligning the pixels of the adjacent DMDs; the invention also provides a method for aligning and fixing the pixels of the splicing areas of the adjacent DMDs.

According to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, an adjacent DMD splicing area pixel alignment and adjustment system comprises: at least one pair of adjacently arranged exposure heads, each of the exposure heads being provided with a DMD array for modulating output light; the support frame is provided with guide grooves with the same number as the exposure heads, a plurality of guide grooves are horizontally arranged along the X-axis direction, one side of each guide groove is provided with at least one screw hole, and the screw holes are provided with screws which can be screwed into the guide grooves from the outside; at least one pair of adjacently arranged sliding blocks which can be slidably arranged in the guide groove and locked by the screw from the Y-axis direction, wherein each exposure head is arranged on the support frame through one sliding block and extends from the upper part to the lower part of the support frame; the image detection module is arranged below the exposure heads and is used for respectively acquiring images formed when the adjacent exposure heads are lightened, and the images are provided with pixels generated by the DMD array so as to enable a user to compare the overlapping widths of the pixels between the images of the adjacent two exposure heads; the driving module is used for adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliding blocks according to the pixel overlap joint width so that the pixel overlap joint width meets the set pixel splicing requirement.

According to the first embodiment of the invention, the adjacent DMD splicing area pixel alignment and alignment system has at least the following beneficial effects: according to the scheme, the guide groove is formed in the support frame, the sliding block which can limit the exposure head to move only in the X-axis direction of the guide groove is configured, and the detection and adjustment functions of the image detection module and the driving module are matched, so that the rotating inclination angle of the DMD cannot be changed excessively when the alignment operation of adjacent DMD pixels is adjusted, the difficulty of precise adjustment of the exposure head is reduced, and the precision and efficiency of precise adjustment are improved.

According to some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the driving module includes a top plate detachably connected to an outer side surface of the slider in a horizontal plane direction, a side plate fixedly connected to a bottom of the top plate from below, and a power mechanism for applying a force to the top plate or the side plate to indirectly push the slider.

According to some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the sliding block further comprises a distance measuring module, wherein the distance measuring module is disposed on one side of the side plate and is used for detecting a moving distance of the sliding block.

According to some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the exposure heads adjacently arranged have a plurality of pairs, and a baffle plate is disposed between each two pairs of the exposure heads, and the baffle plate is fixedly connected to the bottom of the support frame and vertically faces downward.

According to some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, two screw holes are formed on one side of each guide groove along the X-axis direction, and the two screw holes are respectively configured to externally screw the screws in the guide grooves.

According to some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the exposure platform is used for placing a workpiece to be exposed, the exposure head and the support frame are both located above the exposure platform, and the image detection module is placed on the upper surface of the exposure platform.

According to a second aspect of the embodiment of the invention, the method for aligning and fixing the pixels of the splicing area of the adjacent DMDs is applied to the system for aligning and fixing the pixels of the splicing area of the adjacent DMDs, and comprises the following steps: one of the adjacently arranged exposure heads is lightened, and a first image is acquired through an image detection module; another exposure head arranged adjacently is lightened, and a second image is acquired through an image detection module; cross-comparing the first image with the second image to obtain pixel overlap widths of the two exposure heads; judging whether the pixel overlap joint width meets the set pixel splicing requirement, if so, ending the alignment and setting, otherwise, adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliders by using a driving module according to the size of the pixel overlap joint width so that the pixel overlap joint width meets the set pixel splicing requirement.

The adjacent DMD splicing area pixel alignment setting method according to the second embodiment of the invention has at least the following beneficial effects: according to the scheme, the guide groove is formed in the support frame, the sliding block which can limit the exposure head to move only in the X-axis direction of the guide groove is configured, and the detection and adjustment functions of the image detection module and the driving module are matched, so that the rotating inclination angle of the DMD cannot be changed excessively when the alignment operation of adjacent DMD pixels is adjusted, the difficulty of precise adjustment of the exposure head is reduced, and the precision and efficiency of precise adjustment are improved.

According to some embodiments of the second aspect of the present invention, the adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliders according to the size of the pixel overlap width and using a driving module to make the pixel overlap width meet the set pixel splicing requirement includes: loosening the screw of one of the guide grooves to enable the sliding block of the exposure head to move along the X-axis direction of the guide groove; using a driving module to drive the sliding block to move the distance of the pixel overlap width in the direction away from the other exposure head in the guide groove, and detecting by a ranging module; respectively lighting two exposure heads which are adjacently arranged, and acquiring a first image and a second image through an image detection module; and cross-comparing the first image with the second image to obtain pixel overlap widths of the two exposure heads, judging whether the pixel overlap widths meet the set pixel splicing requirements, ending alignment and setting if the pixel overlap widths meet the set pixel splicing requirements, and otherwise returning to the first step to continue adjusting.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The foregoing and/or additional aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and may be better understood from the following description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of pixel overlap of adjacent DMD splice areas in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a pixel alignment setting system according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pixel alignment setting system according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention;

fig. 4 is a perspective view of a supporting frame according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a slider according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an exposure head and slider assembly according to a first aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for aligning and fixing pixels according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of pixel stitching in a stitching region of adjacent DMDs according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals:

exposure head 100, DMD array 110, DMD pixel 111, and optical lens module 120

A supporting frame 200, a guide groove 210, a screw hole 211, a screw 212, a baffle 220,

A slide block 300,

An image detection module 400,

A driving module 500, a top plate 510, a side plate 520,

Ranging module 600,

An exposure stage 700.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative only and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that references to orientation descriptions such as upper, lower, front, rear, left, right, etc. are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, are merely for convenience of description of the present invention and to simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the apparatus or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, unless explicitly defined otherwise, terms such as arrangement, installation, connection, etc. should be construed broadly and the specific meaning of the terms in the present invention can be reasonably determined by a person skilled in the art in combination with the specific contents of the technical scheme.

The technical scheme is that the method is particularly provided with the following technical scheme, and aims at solving the problems that the conventional manual fine adjustment can change the rotation dip angle of the DMD, then the pixel is difficult to align simultaneously and the rotation dip angle of the DMD is ensured to be suitable, so that measures for ensuring the rotation dip angle of the DMD to discard the alignment of the pixels are frequently adopted in the traditional digital exposure machine, and overlapping repeated exposure areas with the width at least greater than 0 but less than the width of one DMD pixel are easily generated under the condition that the alignment of adjacent DMD pixels cannot be ensured.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, a system for aligning and fixing pixels in a splicing area of adjacent DMDs according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present disclosure includes: at least one pair of adjacently arranged exposure heads 100, a support frame 200, at least one pair of adjacently arranged sliders 300, an image detection module 400, a driving module 500, in fig. 3, the exposure heads 100 are illustrated in three pairs, each exposure head 100 being provided with a DMD array 110 for modulating output light.

In the present embodiment, the support frame 200 is provided with guide slots 210 having the same number as the exposure heads 100, as shown in fig. 4, a plurality of guide slots 210 are horizontally arranged along the X-axis direction, and one side of each guide slot is provided with at least one screw hole 211, the screw holes 211 are provided with screws 212 capable of being screwed into the guide slots 210 from the outside, and when the screws 212 are screwed into the guide slots 210 from the outside, the slide blocks 300 inside the guide slots 210 can be pushed up, as shown in fig. 6;

correspondingly, three pairs of sliders 300 are also provided, and are slidably mounted in the guide grooves 210 and locked by screws 212 from the Y-axis direction, each exposure head 100 is mounted on the support frame 200 through one slider 300, and the exposure heads 100 extend from above to below the support frame 200, as shown in fig. 6, the DMD array 110 is located at the top of the exposure heads 100, and the bottom of the exposure heads 100 is the optical lens module 120 for projection imaging.

As shown in fig. 2, the image detection module 400 is disposed below the exposure heads 100, and is used for respectively acquiring images formed when adjacent exposure heads 100 are lightened, wherein the images have pixels generated by the DMD array 110, so that a user can compare the overlapping widths of the pixels between the images of the two adjacent exposure heads 100. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the image detection module 400 may use a plate type camera, which has the advantages of high resolution, easy adjustment, high efficiency, and high cost; in other embodiments of the present solution, the image detection module 400 may also use a plate to be exposed, where the exposure head 100 directly acts on the plate to be exposed to generate a chemical reaction to generate an exposed image, which has the advantages of low cost and easy implementation, and the disadvantages of low resolution, long time consumption for etching, developing, and the like, and relies on a magnifying glass to manually observe; the driving module 500 is configured to adjust the distance between two adjacent sliders 300 according to the pixel overlap width so that the pixel overlap width meets the set pixel splicing requirement.

According to the alignment and adjustment system for the pixels in the splicing area of the adjacent DMDs, the guide grooves 210 are formed in the support frame 200, the sliding blocks 300 which limit the exposure head 100 to move only in the X-axis direction of the guide grooves 210 are arranged, and under the condition that the screws 212 are locked in the Y-axis direction, the detection and adjustment functions of the image detection module 400 and the driving module 500 are matched, so that the rotation inclination angle of the DMDs cannot be excessively changed when the alignment operation of the pixels 111 of the adjacent DMDs is adjusted, the difficulty of precise adjustment of the exposure head is reduced, and the precision and efficiency of the precise adjustment are improved.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, in some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the driving module 500 includes a top plate 510, a side plate 520, and a power mechanism, where the top plate 510 is detachably connected (e.g. screwed) to an outer side surface of the slider 300 along a horizontal plane direction, the side plate 520 is fixedly connected to a bottom of the top plate 510 from below, the power mechanism is used to apply force to the top plate 510 or the side plate 520 to indirectly push the slider 300, and specifically, the power mechanism may use a rubber hammer, a micro motor or a micro cylinder, and in this embodiment, the rubber hammer is preferred, and in use, the rubber hammer slightly hits the top plate 510 or the side plate 520 to indirectly push the slider 300.

As shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the distance measuring module 600 is further provided on one side of the side plate 520, and is used for detecting a moving distance of the slider 300, specifically, the distance measuring module 600 adopts a spectrum range finder, when measuring distance, the spectrum range finder outputs a ranging light spot to irradiate a vertical plane on one side of the side plate 520, and when the total duration of emission and reflection is multiplied by half of the speed of light, the measured distance is obtained, and when alignment is completed, a front-back distance difference after each adjustment of the movement of the slider 300 by the driving module 500 is equal to a pixel overlap width.

In some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the exposure heads 100 disposed adjacently have a plurality of pairs, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, in which three pairs of exposure heads 100 disposed adjacently are illustrated as an example, and a baffle 220 is disposed between each two pairs of exposure heads 100, where the baffle 220 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the support frame 200 and faces vertically downward, and the baffle 220 can avoid interference of other groups of outgoing light.

In some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, two screw holes 211 are formed on one side of each guide slot 210 along the X-axis direction, the two screw holes 211 are respectively configured with screws 212 that can be screwed into the guide slots 210 from the outside, the two screws 212 can ensure that the sliding block 300 is stressed uniformly in the guide slots 210 from both left and right directions, it should be understood that the two screws 212 are only a preferred mode of the present embodiment, and a greater number of screws 212 can be adopted.

As shown in fig. 5, the slider 300 has a two-layer structure, the upper layer is fastened to the top of the guide slot 210, the lower layer is embedded in the guide slot 210 and abuts against the screw 212, so as to tightly push the slider 300, and a through hole is formed in the middle of the slider 300 for the exposure head 100 to pass through, as shown in fig. 6.

Further, as shown in fig. 3, in some embodiments of the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes an exposure stage 700, the exposure stage 700 is used for placing a workpiece to be exposed, and the exposure head 100 and the support 200 are both located above the exposure stage 700, and the image detection module 400 and the ranging module 600 are respectively placed on the upper surface of the exposure stage 700 when in use.

As shown in fig. 7, a method for aligning and fixing pixels of a splicing area of an adjacent DMD according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned alignment and fixing system for pixels of a splicing area of an adjacent DMD, and includes the following steps:

s1, one of the exposure heads 100 arranged adjacently is lightened, and a first image is acquired through the image detection module 400; when the image detection module 400 works, firstly, pixels in the rightmost columns of the DMD array 110 are focused and clear, and then are photographed;

s2, illuminating another exposure head 100 adjacently arranged, and acquiring a second image through the image detection module 400; when the image detection module 400 works, firstly, pixels in the leftmost columns of the DMD array 110 are focused and clear, and then are photographed;

s3, cross-comparing the first image with the second image to obtain the overlapping width of the pixels of the two exposure heads 100;

s4, judging whether the pixel overlap width meets the set pixel splicing requirement, if so, ending the alignment, and if so, as shown in FIG. 8, otherwise, adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliders 300 according to the size of the pixel overlap width and by using a driving module 500 so that the pixel overlap width meets the set pixel splicing requirement.

According to the scheme, the guide groove 210 is formed in the support frame 200, the sliding block 300 which limits the exposure head 100 to move only in the X-axis direction of the guide groove 210 is configured, under the condition that the screw 212 is locked in the Y-axis direction, the detection and adjustment functions of the image detection module 400 and the driving module 500 are matched, so that the rotating inclination angle of the DMD cannot be out of tolerance when the alignment operation of the adjacent DMD pixels 111 is adjusted, the difficulty of precise adjustment of the exposure head is reduced, and the precision and efficiency of the precise adjustment are improved.

Further, in some embodiments of the second aspect of the present invention, adjusting the spacing between two adjacent sliders 300 according to the size of the pel overlap width and using the driving module 500 so that the pel overlap width meets the set pel splice requirement includes:

loosening the screw 212 of one of the guide grooves 210 so that the slider 300 of the exposure head 100 can move in the X-axis direction of the guide groove 210;

using the driving module 500 to drive the sliding block 300 to move in the direction away from the other exposure head 100 in the guide groove 210 by the distance of the pixel overlap width, and detecting by the ranging module 600, so as to ensure that the difference of the front and rear distances after each adjustment of the sliding block 300 by the driving module 500 is equal to the pixel overlap width;

two exposure heads 100 adjacently arranged are respectively lightened, and a first image and a second image are acquired through an image detection module 400;

and cross-comparing the first image with the second image to obtain pixel overlap widths of the two exposure heads 100, judging whether the pixel overlap widths meet the set pixel splicing requirements, ending alignment if so, and otherwise, returning to the first step to continue adjusting.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiments," "examples," "specific examples," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments or examples. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: many changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (8)

1. An adjacent DMD stitching region pixel alignment system, comprising:

at least one pair of adjacently arranged exposure heads (100), each of said exposure heads (100) being provided with a DMD array (110) for modulating output light;

the device comprises a support frame (200), wherein the support frame (200) is provided with guide grooves (210) the number of which is consistent with that of the exposure heads (100), a plurality of the guide grooves (210) are horizontally arranged along the X-axis direction, one side of each guide groove is provided with at least one screw hole (211), and the screw holes (211) are provided with screws (212) which can be screwed into the guide grooves (210) from the outside;

at least one pair of adjacently arranged sliders (300) slidably mounted in the guide grooves (210) and locked by the screws (212) from the Y-axis direction, each of the exposure heads (100) being mounted on the support frame (200) by one of the sliders (300), and the exposure heads (100) extending from above to below the support frame (200);

the image detection module (400) is arranged below the exposure heads (100) and is used for respectively acquiring images formed when the adjacent exposure heads (100) are lightened, wherein the images are provided with pixels generated by the DMD array (110) so as to enable a user to compare the overlapping widths of the pixels between the images of the adjacent two exposure heads (100);

and the driving module (500) is used for adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliding blocks (300) according to the pixel overlap joint width so that the pixel overlap joint width meets the set pixel splicing requirement.

2. The alignment system of adjacent DMD stitching region pixels as recited in claim 1 wherein: the driving module (500) comprises a top plate (510), side plates (520) and a power mechanism, wherein the top plate (510) is detachably connected with the outer side face of the sliding block (300) along the horizontal plane direction, the side plates (520) are fixedly connected to the bottom of the top plate (510) from below, and the power mechanism is used for applying force to the top plate (510) or the side plates (520) so as to indirectly push the sliding block (300).

3. The adjacent DMD stitching region pixel alignment system of claim 2 wherein: the device further comprises a ranging module (600), wherein the ranging module (600) is arranged on one side of the side plate (520) and is used for detecting the moving distance of the sliding block (300).

4. The alignment system of adjacent DMD stitching region pixels as recited in claim 1 wherein: the exposure heads (100) adjacently arranged are provided with a plurality of pairs, a baffle plate (220) is arranged between every two pairs of exposure heads (100), and the baffle plate (220) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the support frame (200) and vertically faces downwards.

5. The alignment system for pixels in adjacent DMD stitching regions of claim 4, wherein: two screw holes (211) are formed in one side of each guide groove (210) along the X-axis direction, and the two screw holes (211) are respectively provided with a screw (212) capable of being screwed into the guide groove (210) from the outside.

6. The alignment system of adjacent DMD stitching region pixels as recited in claim 1 wherein: the exposure device further comprises an exposure platform (700), wherein the exposure platform (700) is used for placing a workpiece to be exposed, the exposure head (100) and the support frame (200) are both positioned above the exposure platform (700), and the image detection module (400) is placed on the upper surface of the exposure platform (700).

7. A method for aligning and setting pixels in adjacent DMD splicing areas is characterized in that: an adjacent DMD splice area pixel alignment system applied to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising the steps of

Illuminating one of the adjacently arranged exposure heads (100), acquiring a first image by an image detection module (400);

illuminating another exposure head (100) adjacently arranged, acquiring a second image by an image detection module (400);

cross-comparing the first image with the second image to obtain pixel overlap widths of the two exposure heads (100);

judging whether the pixel overlap joint width meets the set pixel splicing requirement, if so, ending the alignment and setting, otherwise, adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliders (300) by using a driving module (500) according to the size of the pixel overlap joint width so that the pixel overlap joint width meets the set pixel splicing requirement.

8. The method for aligning and setting the pixels in the splicing area of the adjacent DMDs according to claim 7, wherein the step of adjusting the distance between two adjacent sliders (300) by using a driving module (500) according to the size of the overlapping width of the pixels so that the overlapping width of the pixels meets the set splicing requirement of the pixels comprises:

loosening the screw (212) of one of the guide grooves (210) so that the slider (300) of the exposure head (100) can move in the X-axis direction of the guide groove (210);

using a driving module (500) to drive the sliding block (300) to move the distance of the pixel overlap width in the direction away from the other exposure head (100) in the guide groove (210), and detecting by a distance measuring module (600);

respectively illuminating two exposure heads (100) adjacently arranged, and acquiring a first image and a second image through an image detection module (400);

and cross-comparing the first image with the second image to obtain pixel overlap widths of the two exposure heads (100), judging whether the pixel overlap widths meet the set pixel splicing requirements, ending alignment and setting if the pixel overlap widths meet the set pixel splicing requirements, and otherwise returning to the first step to continue adjusting.