JP2021189854A - Print data generation apparatus and control apparatus of ink application apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a print data generation apparatus configured to reduce the volume of print data.SOLUTION: A print data generation apparatus generates print data for designating a position where the ink is applied. The print data includes base image data which designates ink application positions in each of multiple unit areas defined on a drawing surface, position information which designates positions of the unit areas on the drawing surface, and association information which associates each of the unit areas with one of multiple pieces of base image data. One piece of common base image data is associated with unit areas having the same distribution of multiple ink application positions in the unit areas, out of the multiple unit areas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a printing data generation device and a control device for an ink coating device.

A dot spacer is used for the resistance film type touch panel to prevent a short circuit between the two conductive films. The dot spacer is composed of a plurality of dots made of an insulating material that is regularly distributed in the plane. The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for forming a dot spacer by spraying ink on a dot spacer forming surface using an inkjet printer. When drawing a desired pattern using an inkjet printer, raster-formed image data is used to control ink ejection from the inkjet head. Raster format image data is generally generated by converting vector format data created using CAD. Image data in raster format is defined by a plurality of pixels arranged on almost the entire surface to which ink is to be applied.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-139162

As the range to which the ink should be applied becomes wider and the resolution becomes higher, the number of pixels of the image data for printing (printing data) becomes enormous. As the number of pixels increases, the time required to convert vector format image data to raster format image data increases. Further, the data capacity of the print data becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing data generation device and an ink coating device capable of reducing the data capacity of printing data.

According to one aspect of the invention
A printing data generator that is given to an ink coating device that ejects ink from an inkjet head and applies ink to the surface to be drawn, and generates printing data that specifies the ink coating position.
The print data is
Basic image data that specifies the ink application position in each of the plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn, and
Position information that specifies the position of each of the plurality of unit areas on the surface to be drawn, and
Includes association information that associates each of the plurality of unit areas with any of the plurality of basic image data.
Of the plurality of unit areas, one common basic image data is associated with a unit area having the same distribution of ink application positions in the unit area, and the print data is generated. Equipment is provided.

According to another aspect of the invention
An inkjet head that drops ink and ejects it,
A substrate is arranged at a position facing the inkjet head, and an ink application device provided with a moving mechanism for moving one of the inkjet head and the substrate with respect to the other is controlled.
A control device that controls the inkjet head and the moving mechanism to apply ink to the ink application position on the drawing surface based on the printing data that specifies the ink application position on the drawing surface of the substrate.
The print data is
Basic image data that specifies the ink application position in each of the plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn, and
Includes position information that specifies the position of each of the plurality of unit areas on the surface to be drawn.
A control device is provided in which one common basic image data is associated with a unit region having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the plurality of unit regions.

Of a plurality of unit areas, one common basic image data is associated with a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the unit area, so that the data capacity of print data can be reduced. ..

FIG. 1A is a schematic front view of a printing data generation device according to an embodiment and an ink coating device that draws using image data generated by the printing data generation device, and FIG. 1B is a movable table and ink. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship in the plan view of a discharge unit and an image pickup apparatus. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a drawing area in which a pattern formed on the surface of the substrate is arranged. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a surface to be drawn and one drawing area inside the surface to be drawn, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing various information included in the drawing information. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing pixels constituting two types of basic image data on a two-dimensional plane of a pixel coordinate system. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing information included in print data. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of a plurality of unit areas in the surface to be drawn. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement of a plurality of unit areas in the surface to be drawn. FIG. 8A is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a plurality of drawing areas and unit areas in the surface to be drawn specified by the print data generated by the print data generation device according to another embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the positional relationship. It is a figure which shows the association between a unit area and basic image data. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a movement locus of an inkjet head with respect to a substrate when a dot pattern is formed by the ink coating apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a movement locus of the inkjet head when ink is applied using the printing data shown in FIG.

A printing data generation device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 7.
FIG. 1A is a schematic front view of the printing data generation device according to the present embodiment and the ink coating device that draws using the printing data generated by the printing data generation device. The movable table 12 is supported on the base 10 by the moving mechanism 11. It defines an xyz Cartesian coordinate system in which the x-axis and y-axis are oriented horizontally and the z-axis is vertically downward. The moving mechanism 11 is controlled by the control device 50 to move the movable table 12 in two directions, the x direction and the y direction. As the moving mechanism 11, for example, an XY stage including an X-direction moving mechanism 11X and a Y-direction moving mechanism 11Y can be used. The X-direction moving mechanism 11X moves the Y-direction moving mechanism 11Y with respect to the base 10 in the x-direction, and the Y-direction moving mechanism 11Y moves the movable table 12 with respect to the base 10 in the y-direction.

The substrate 20 to be applied with ink is held on the upper surface (holding surface) of the movable table 12. The substrate 20 is fixed to the movable table 12 by, for example, a vacuum chuck. The moving mechanism 11 moves the substrate 20 held by the movable table 12 in a direction parallel to the xy plane. The ink ejection unit 30 and the image pickup apparatus 40 are supported above the movable table 12 by, for example, a gate-shaped support member 13. The ink ejection unit 30 and the image pickup apparatus 40 are supported so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the base 10. The ink ejection unit 30 has a plurality of nozzles facing the substrate 20. Each nozzle droplets and ejects a photocurable (for example, ultraviolet curable) ink toward the surface of the substrate 20. The ink ejection is controlled by the control device 50.

The image pickup apparatus 40 takes an image of the upper surface (the surface to which the ink is applied) of the substrate 20. A region of the upper surface of the substrate 20 located within the angle of view of the image pickup apparatus 40 is imaged by the image pickup apparatus 40.

The control device 50 includes a storage unit 51 and a control unit 52. Information (hereinafter referred to as image data) for designating a position where ink should be applied is stored in the storage unit 51. The image data is composed of a plurality of pixels associated with each of the plurality of positions on the surface of the substrate 20. By associating each pixel with information that specifies whether or not ink is applied, the pixel on which the ink should land is specified. In the present specification, the position on the substrate corresponding to each of a plurality of pixels of image data may be simply referred to as "pixel".

The control unit 52 controls the moving mechanism 11 and the ink ejection unit 30 based on the image data to land the ink at a predetermined position on the surface of the substrate 20. As a result, a dot pattern or a film pattern made of ink is formed on the surface of the substrate 20. In the present specification, among dots, an ink that has landed on one pixel is not continuous with an ink that has landed on another pixel and is isolated, which is referred to as an "isolated dot".

The print data generation device 60 generates print data based on various information input by the user. The generated print data is input to the control device 50. The input of print data from the print data generation device 60 to the control device 50 is performed using a removable media, a communication network such as LAN, short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like.

FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the movable table 12, the ink ejection unit 30, and the image pickup apparatus 40 in a plan view. The substrate 20 is held on the holding surface of the movable table 12. The ink ejection unit 30 and the image pickup apparatus 40 are supported above the substrate 20. The ink ejection unit 30 includes an inkjet head 31 and a curing light source 33. A plurality of nozzles 32 are provided on the surface of the inkjet head 31 facing the substrate 20. The plurality of nozzles 32 are arranged at equal intervals in the x direction. This interval is a dimension corresponding to a resolution of, for example, 600 dpi. The plurality of nozzles 32 do not need to be arranged on one straight line parallel to the x direction, and may be arranged at positions regularly deviated in the y direction from the reference line parallel to the x direction. For example, they may be arranged in a staggered pattern.

The curing light source 33 is arranged on both sides of the inkjet head 31 in the y direction, and irradiates the substrate 20 with light for curing the ink applied to the substrate 20. For example, the ink is an ultraviolet curable type, and the curing light source 33 irradiates the substrate 20 with ultraviolet rays. The curing light source 33 functions as a curing device that cures the ink applied to the substrate 20.

The moving mechanism 11 is controlled by the control device 50 to move the movable table 12 in the x-direction and the y-direction. Further, the control device 50 controls the ejection of ink from each nozzle 32 of the inkjet head 31.

By ejecting ink from the inkjet head 31 while moving the substrate 20 in the y direction (in other words, moving the inkjet head 31 relative to the substrate 20 in the y direction), for example, 600 dpi in the x direction. Ink can be applied to the substrate 20 at resolution. The ink that has landed on the substrate 20 is cured by the light emitted from the curing light source 33 located on the downstream side in the moving direction of the substrate 20. The operation of landing ink on the substrate 20 from the inkjet head 31 while moving the substrate 20 in the y direction is referred to as a “scan operation”. The y direction is called the scan direction.

The inkjet head 31 may be reciprocated at least once in the y direction in one scanning operation. At this time, by shifting the inkjet head 31 in the x direction with respect to the substrate 20 by half the pitch of the nozzle 32 on the outward path and the return path, the ink can be landed on the substrate 20 at a resolution of 1200 dpi. By setting the displacement amount of the inkjet head 31 to 1/4 of the pitch of the nozzle 32 and reciprocating the inkjet head 31 twice, the ink can be landed on the substrate 20 at a resolution of 2400 dpi. As described above, even when the inkjet head 31 is moved a plurality of times in the negative direction and the positive direction of the y-axis in order to increase the resolution, the plurality of movements are collectively referred to as one scanning operation.

The control device 50 moves the movable table 12 in the x direction when one scanning operation is completed. In other words, the inkjet head 31 is moved relative to the substrate 20 in the x direction. This operation is referred to as "shift operation". The x direction is called the shift direction. By repeating the scanning operation and the shifting operation, the ink can be applied to the entire area of the substrate 20. The relative movement amount of the inkjet head 31 with respect to the substrate 20 in the x direction may be substantially equal to the distance between the two nozzles 32 located at both ends in the x direction. When some nozzles 32 in the vicinity of both ends are not used for ejecting ink, the distance between the nozzles 32 located at both ends of the actually used nozzles 32 may be substantially equal to the distance.

By performing the scanning operation a plurality of times without performing the shifting operation, the ink can be landed on one pixel a plurality of times. That is, the ink can be overcoated. By recoating the ink, the isolated dots can be made higher and the film can be made thicker.

When the scanning operation is performed while the substrate 20 is irradiated with light from the curing light source 33, the ink ejected from the inkjet head 31 is temporarily cured immediately after landing on the substrate 20. Specifically, after the ink has landed, the ink is temporarily cured in a short time until the landing point of the ink moves into the path of the light emitted from the curing light source 33. Until the ink is temporarily cured, the ink landing on the substrate 20 spreads in the in-plane direction of the substrate 20. The degree of this spread depends on the degree of liquidity on the surface of the substrate 20. After the ink is temporarily cured, the ink does not spread in the in-plane direction of the substrate 20.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a drawing area in which a pattern formed on the surface of the substrate 20 is arranged. In this embodiment, a dot spacer used for a resistance film type touch panel is formed. Eight touch panels are multi-chamfered on one substrate 20. The surface of the substrate 20 to which the ink is to be applied is referred to as the surface to be drawn 23. A square or rectangular drawing area 25 is defined on the surface to be drawn 23 corresponding to each of the eight touch panels. The four edges of the surface to be drawn 23 and each of the four edges of the drawing area 25 are parallel to the x direction (shift direction) or the y direction (scan direction). When the x direction is the row direction and the y direction is the column direction, the eight drawing areas 25 are arranged in a matrix of 4 rows and 2 columns.

As an example, one vertex of the surface to be drawn 23 is defined as the origin O of the xy coordinate. In FIG. 2, the upper left vertex is defined as the origin O. A reference point 24 whose relative position to the drawing area 25 is fixed is defined in each of the drawing areas 25. As the reference point 24, for example, the vertex closest to the origin O among each of the four vertices of the drawing area 25 is adopted. In FIG. 2, the upper left apex of each of the surface to be drawn 23 is the reference point 24. By specifying the position of the reference point 24 in the xy coordinate system, the position of the drawing area 25 on the surface to be drawn 23 can be specified.

A pixel coordinate system is defined on the surface to be drawn 23, and the positions of pixels arranged on the surface to be drawn 23 are specified by pixel coordinates. Of the plurality of pixels arranged on the surface to be drawn 23, the pixel having the origin O of the xy coordinate system as one vertex is defined as the origin (0,0) of the pixel coordinate system. The pixel pitch is set by the resolution of the pattern to be formed on the surface to be drawn 23. When one position is specified in xy coordinates, that position can be associated with one pixel in the pixel coordinate system.

A plurality of isolated dots are arranged in each of the drawing areas 25. The print data generated by the print data generation device 60 (FIG. 1A) specifies the positions of a plurality of dots 22 arranged on the surface to be drawn 23. The control device 50 applies ink to a predetermined position on the surface to be drawn 23 by controlling the moving mechanism 11 and the inkjet head 31 based on the printing data.

The area where ink can be applied by one scanning operation is called a pass area 21. A plurality of path regions 21 are arranged side by side in the x direction. In FIG. 2, the four pass regions 21 cover the entire area of the surface to be drawn 23 to which the ink should be applied. The number of required pass regions 21 varies depending on the size of the substrate 20 and the size of the inkjet head 31.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, information for designating the range of the drawing area 25 and the dot pattern to be formed in the drawing area 25 (hereinafter referred to as drawing information) will be described.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a surface to be drawn 23 and one drawing area 25 inside the surface to be drawn. The upper left vertex of the surface to be drawn 23 corresponds to the origin O of the xy coordinate system. The drawing area 25 is arranged in the surface to be drawn 23. The drawing area 25 is divided into a peripheral portion 25A and an inner inner portion 25B. The area inside the drawing area 25 and outside the inner depth 25B is the peripheral edge 25A. The upper left apex of the peripheral edge portion 25A coincides with the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25. The upper left apex of the inner inner part 25B is set as the reference point 24B of the inner inner part 25B.

Each of the drawing areas 25 constitutes one unit area 28. The unit area 28 is a unit for generating the basic image data 90 (FIG. 3B) described below. The reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 is adopted as the reference point 29 that serves as a reference for designating the position of the unit area 28 on the surface to be drawn 23.

FIG. 3B is a chart showing various information included in the drawing information. The drawing information set for one drawing area 25 specifies the distribution rule of the position of the drawing area 25 on the surface to be drawn 23, the range of the drawing area 25, and the ink application position (dots) in the drawing area 25. Contains information. As the information for designating the position of the drawing area 25, the information for designating the position of the reference point 24 (FIG. 3A) of the drawing area 25 is used. As the information for designating the range of the drawing area 25, the information for designating the dimension in the x direction and the dimension in the y direction of the drawing area 25 is used. As information for designating the distribution rule of the ink application position, the pitch (dot pitch) of the dots arranged in the peripheral portion 25A in the x-direction and the y-direction, and the reference point 24B of the inner inner portion 25B with respect to the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25. Information that specifies the relative position, the x-direction and y-direction dimensions of the inner inner portion 25B, and the dot pitch of the inner inner portion 25B in the x-direction and y-direction is used.

The print data generation device 60 (FIG. 1A) causes the user to input such information included in the drawing information. Further, the print data generation device 60 generates the basic image data 90 based on the drawing information input by the user other than the position information of the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25. The basic image data 90 is raster format image data composed of a plurality of pixels 70, and information for designating whether or not to apply ink (whether or not to arrange dots) is assigned to each of the plurality of pixels 70. ..

The print data generation device 60 (FIG. 1A) generates one common basic image data 90 for a plurality of drawing areas 25 in which information other than the position information of the reference point 24 is the same among the drawing information.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing the pixels 70 constituting the two types of basic image data 90A and 90B on a two-dimensional plane of the pixel coordinate system, respectively. The basic image data 90A and 90B specify the positions of a plurality of dots 71 arranged in the corresponding unit regions 28 (FIG. 3A), respectively. In FIGS. 4A and 4B, the pixel 70 in which the dot 71 is arranged is painted black. The pixel 70 in which the dot 71 is arranged may be simply referred to as the dot 71. Further, in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the peripheral portion 25A is hatched.

A plurality of dots 71 are regularly arranged at equal pitches in the x-direction and the y-direction in the peripheral portion 25A and the inner inner portion 25B, respectively. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the pitch of the dots 71 arranged in the inner inner portion 25B is wider than the pitch of the dots 71 arranged in the peripheral portion 25A. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, on the contrary, the pitch of the dots 71 arranged in the inner inner portion 25B is narrower than the pitch of the dots 71 arranged in the peripheral portion 25A. It should be noted that a plurality of dots 71 may be arranged according to a distribution rule other than the arrangement of the dots shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. For example, a plurality of dots 71 may be uniformly arranged over the entire area of the unit region 28.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing information included in the print data 95. The print data 95 includes basic image data 90A, 90B (FIGS. 4A, 4B), and information defining each of the plurality of unit areas 28. The information that defines each of the unit areas 28 includes information that specifies the position of the unit area 28 on the surface to be drawn 23 (hereinafter, referred to as position information). The position of the unit area 28 is designated by the position of the reference point 29. The position of the reference point 29 is specified, for example, in pixel coordinates defined on the surface to be drawn 23.

The information defining the unit area 28 further includes information that associates each of the plurality of unit areas 28 with either one of the basic image data 90A and 90B (hereinafter, referred to as association information). Associate the unit area 28 with the basic image data means that the basic image data of one of the plurality of basic image data can be accessed from the information specifying each of the plurality of unit areas 28. .. For example, as the association information, identification information that identifies one of the plurality of basic image data, a pointer that points to an address in which the basic image data is stored, or the like can be adopted. In FIG. 5, the association between the unit area 28 and the basic image data 90A and 90B is represented by an arrow 91 directed from any of the basic image data 90A and 90B toward the unit area 28. The positions of the plurality of dots arranged in each of the plurality of unit areas 28 are specified by the basic image data 90A or 90B associated with the unit area 28.

The dot pattern specified by the basic image data 90A is formed in the unit area 28 to which the basic image data 90A is associated, and the dot pattern is designated by the basic image data 90B in the unit area 28 to which the basic image data 90B is associated. The control device 50 (FIG. 1A) controls the moving mechanism 11 and the inkjet head 31 so as to form the dot pattern to be formed.

Next, the excellent effect of the above-mentioned embodiment will be described.
Normally, as print data, raster format image data generated for the entire area of the surface to be drawn 23 (FIG. 2) is used. In this embodiment, one basic image data 90 (FIG. 3B) is generated for a plurality of unit regions 28 having the same dot pattern among the eight unit regions 28. The area of the unit region 28 for which the position of the dot is specified in the basic image data 90 is smaller than the area of the entire area of the surface to be drawn 23. Therefore, the data capacity of the basic image data 90 is smaller than the data capacity of the raster format image data generated for the entire area of the surface to be drawn 23. Further, the total data capacity of the plurality of basic image data 90A and 90B included in the print data 95 (FIG. 5) according to the embodiment is also the data capacity of the raster format image data generated for the entire area of the surface to be drawn 23. Fewer.

The data capacity of the information for designating the position of the unit area 28 included in the print data 95 (FIG. 5) and the information for associating the unit area 28 with any of the plurality of basic image data 90A and 90B is the basic image data 90A. It is sufficiently smaller than the data capacity of 90B. Therefore, the data capacity of the print data can be reduced by generating the print data with the print data generation device 60 (FIG. 1A) according to the above embodiment.

Further, in the above embodiment, in order to generate one common basic image data 90 for a plurality of unit regions 28 having the same dot pattern, image data is generated for each of all the unit regions 28. It is possible to shorten the generation time of the print data as compared with the case of using the print data.

Next, other excellent effects will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of a plurality of unit regions 28 in the surface to be drawn 23. In the example shown in FIG. 5, eight unit regions 28 are arranged in a matrix of 4 rows and 2 columns. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the unit area 28 is not arranged at the positions of the first row and the second row of the first column.

Two unit areas 28 are arranged in the first and second path areas 21 from the left, and four unit areas 28 are arranged in the third and fourth path areas 21. In FIG. 6, the locus of movement of the inkjet head 31 with respect to the substrate 20 is shown by a polygonal line with an arrow.

The control device 50 (FIG. 1A) obtains a range in which the unit area 28 is arranged in the y direction for each path area 21 from the position of the reference point 29 and the basic image data 90A and 90B. In the scanning operation, the inkjet head 31 does not scan the area where the unit area 28 is not arranged. In the scanning operation, the moving distance of the inkjet head 31 is shorter than in the case of scanning the entire range of the surface to be drawn 23 in the y direction. This makes it possible to shorten the ink application time.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7, other excellent effects will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement of the plurality of unit regions 28 in the surface to be drawn 23. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the unit area 28 is not arranged at the position of the second row of the first column. In the scanning operation, when the inkjet head 31 passes through a range in which the unit region 28 is not arranged in the y direction, the moving speed of the inkjet head 31 is increased. In FIG. 7, the range in which the inkjet head 31 is moved by increasing the moving speed is indicated by an arrow thicker than the polygonal line with an arrow indicating the trajectory of the inkjet head 31.

By increasing the moving speed of the inkjet head 31 in a part of the pass region 21, the ink application time can be shortened.

Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described.
In the above embodiment, two basic image data 90A and 90B are generated as shown in FIG. 5, but when the dot patterns of the plurality of unit areas 28 are classified into three or more types, the basic image data 90 3 or more may be generated according to the number of types of dot patterns.

Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A-9. Hereinafter, the description of the configuration common to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1A to 5 will be omitted.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the plurality of drawing areas 25 and the unit area 28 in the surface to be drawn 23 designated by the print data generated by the print data generation device 60 (FIG. 1A) according to the present embodiment. be. Eight drawing areas 25 are arranged in a matrix of 4 rows and 2 columns. In FIG. 8A, the drawing area 25 is hatched. Further, the same hatching is attached to the drawing area 25 having the same dot pattern. The dot patterns of the unit areas 28 of the first and second rows are the same, and the dot patterns of the unit areas 28 of the third and fourth rows are the same. The dot pattern is different between the unit area 28 on the first row and the unit area 28 on the third row.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1A to 5, one drawing area 25 constitutes one unit area 28 (FIG. 5). On the other hand, in this embodiment, two drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction constitute one unit area 28, and a total of four unit areas 28 are arranged side by side in the y direction. The reference point 29 of the unit area 28 coincides with the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 on the left side in FIG. 8A.

The basic image data 90 (FIG. 3B) associated with one unit area 28 is generated based on the drawing information of the two drawing areas 25 constituting the unit area 28. In FIG. 8A, the position of the dot arranged in the drawing area 25 on the right side in the unit area 28 is determined in consideration of the relative position of the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 on the right side with respect to the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 on the left side. be able to.

FIG. 8B is a diagram showing the association between the unit area 28 and the basic image data 90C and 90D. The basic image data 90C is associated with the unit areas 28 of the first and second rows, and the basic image data 90D is associated with the unit areas 28 of the third and fourth rows.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a locus of movement of the inkjet head 31 with respect to the substrate 20 when a dot pattern is formed by the ink coating apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 9, the locus of movement of the inkjet head 31 is shown by a polygonal line with an arrow. The area to which the ink should be applied is covered by the three pass areas 21. The central path area 21 includes a part of the drawing area 25 in the left column and a part of the drawing area 25 on the right side.

Next, the excellent effect of this embodiment will be described.
Also in this embodiment, as in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1A to 5, since one basic image data 90 is used in the plurality of unit areas 28, the data capacity of the print data can be reduced. ..

Further, a better effect of this embodiment as compared with the case where the ink is applied using the printing data 95 shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a locus of movement of the inkjet head 31 when ink is applied using the printing data 95 shown in FIG. One drawing area 25 constitutes one unit area 28. A reference point 29 is set for each unit area 28. The ink application position in the unit area 28 is designated as a relative position with respect to the reference point 29.

Therefore, the control device 50 (FIG. 1A) inks based on different reference points 29 when the ink is applied to the unit region 28 in the first row and when the ink is applied to the unit region 28 in the second row. Determine the coating position. Therefore, it is difficult to apply ink to the unit area 28 in the first row and the unit area 28 in the second row at the same time by one scanning operation.

When scanning is performed on the second pass area 21 from the left, ink is applied to a part of the unit area 28 in the first row, so that the unit areas 28 in the second row having different reference points 29 are simultaneously applied. Ink cannot be applied. In order to apply ink to the unit area 28 in the second row, the third and fourth scanning operations must be performed. Therefore, a total of four scanning operations must be performed.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, since the two drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction are combined into one unit area 28, the area straddling the two drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction. One reference point 29 is associated with the reference point 29. By controlling the inkjet head 31 based on this one reference point and one basic image data 90, the control device 50 performs one scanning operation for an area straddling two drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction. Ink can be applied with. Therefore, the ink can be applied to all the drawing areas 25 by three scanning operations.

In this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of scanning operations as compared with the case shown in FIG. As a result, the ink application time can be shortened.

Next, in the example shown in FIG. 8A for explaining the modification of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A to 9, the number of drawing regions 25 arranged in the x direction is two. When the number of drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction is three or more, the three or more drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction may be combined into one unit area 28. When the number of drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction is four or more, all the drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction may be combined into one unit area 28, or some of the plurality of drawing areas 25 may be used. It may be collectively made into one unit area 28.

The print data generation device 60 (FIG. 1A) may allow the user to specify a plurality of drawing areas 25 to be included in one unit area 28. For example, the drawing information (FIG. 3B) set for each drawing area 25 may include information for designating the unit area 28 including the drawing area 25 among the plurality of unit areas 28.

It is needless to say that each embodiment is an example, and partial replacement or combination of the configurations shown in different examples is possible. Similar actions and effects due to the same configuration of a plurality of examples will not be mentioned sequentially for each example. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples. For example, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes, improvements, combinations, etc. are possible.

10 Base 11 Moving mechanism 11X X direction moving mechanism 11Y Y direction moving mechanism 12 Movable table 13 Support member 20 Board 21 Pass area 23 Drawing surface 24 Reference point 24B Reference point in the inner part 25 Drawing area 25A Peripheral part 25B Inner back Unit 28 Unit area 29 Unit area reference point 30 Ink jet head 32 Nozzle 33 Curing light source 40 Imaging device 50 Control device 51 Storage unit 52 Control unit 60 Printing data generator 70 Pixels 71 Dots 90, 90A, 90B , 90C, 90D Basic image data 91 Arrow 95 indicating association Data for printing

Claims (6)

A printing data generator that is given to an ink coating device that ejects ink from an inkjet head and applies ink to the surface to be drawn, and generates printing data that specifies an ink coating position.
The print data is
Basic image data that specifies the ink application position in each of the plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn, and
Position information that specifies the position of each of the plurality of unit areas on the surface to be drawn, and
Includes association information that associates each of the plurality of unit areas with any of the plurality of basic image data.
A print data generation device that generates print data by associating common basic image data with respect to a unit region having the same distribution of ink application positions in the plurality of unit regions. A plurality of drawing areas are defined in each of the plurality of unit areas.
Drawing information is set for each of the plurality of drawing areas.
The drawing information includes information that specifies the position of the drawing area on the surface to be drawn, the range of the drawing area, and the distribution rule of the ink application position in the drawing area.
The printing data generation device according to claim 1, wherein the basic image data is generated based on the drawing information. The ink application device executes a scanning operation of ejecting ink while moving the inkjet head with respect to the surface to be drawn in the first direction at different positions with respect to the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. death,
The plurality of drawing areas are arranged in a matrix in which the first direction and the second direction are the row direction and the column direction, respectively.
The printing data generation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of drawing areas arranged in the second direction are combined into one unit area. The print data generation device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a function of allowing a user to specify a plurality of drawing areas to be included in one unit area. An inkjet head that drops ink and ejects it,
A substrate is arranged at a position facing the inkjet head, and an ink application device provided with a moving mechanism for moving one of the inkjet head and the substrate with respect to the other is controlled.
A control device that controls the inkjet head and the moving mechanism to apply ink to the ink application position on the drawing surface based on the printing data that specifies the ink application position on the drawing surface of the substrate.
The print data is
Basic image data that specifies the ink application position in each of the plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn, and
Includes position information that specifies the position of each of the plurality of unit areas on the surface to be drawn.
A control device in which one common basic image data is associated with a unit area having the same distribution of ink application positions in the plurality of unit areas. Scanning operations for ejecting ink while moving the inkjet head in the first direction with respect to the surface to be drawn are executed at different positions with respect to the second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
A plurality of drawing areas are defined in each of the plurality of unit areas, and the plurality of drawing areas are arranged in a matrix in which the first direction and the second direction are the row direction and the column direction, respectively. ,
The control device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of drawing areas arranged in the second direction are collectively regarded as one unit area.

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