KR102684439B1 - Memory device recording compression data structure, method for compressing print data using the same, and method for printing - Google Patents

Abstract

It provides a compressed data structure that allows easy modification of the compressed data when the print data is modified, and a print data compression method and printing method using the same.
A compressed data structure is used that includes the number of plural droplet discharge data, each position of the plurality of droplet discharge data, and the liquid droplet discharge amount at each position. Print data compression comprising a division process of partitioning print data, which is a map of droplet ejection timing and a nozzle position for ejecting the droplet, into predetermined sections, and a compression process of compressing the print data of the predetermined section into the compressed data structure. Use the method.

Description

Memory device in which compressed data structure is recorded and printing data compression method and printing method using the same {MEMORY DEVICE RECORDING COMPRESSION DATA STRUCTURE, METHOD FOR COMPRESSING PRINT DATA USING THE SAME, AND METHOD FOR PRINTING}

The present invention relates to a compressed data structure, a printing data compression method using the same, and a printing method. In particular, it relates to a compressed data structure when applying droplets, a printing data compression method using the same, and a printing method.

As a method of manufacturing devices such as color filters of liquid crystal displays and organic EL displays, there is a method using inkjet. That is, this is a method of forming a film of a functional material on an object to be coated by ejecting a liquid body containing a functional material as droplets from a plurality of nozzles of an inkjet.

In this inkjet method, the ejection pattern is treated as print data. The print data used is switched according to lot changes of the coated object or changes in the state of the inkjet nozzle. This makes flexible production possible.

In liquid crystal and organic EL displays, larger screens and higher definitions are progressing, and the inkjet printing devices that manufacture them also need to support high-precision printing. In such large screens and high-precision ejection patterns for coated objects, the capacity of the print data used for printing becomes large, and the capacity of the memory that holds the print data and the data transfer time become problems. For this reason, a configuration in which print data is compressed and transmitted, and defrosting is performed sequentially during printing, is generally used.

As the above data compression method, since decompression by hardware can be easily realized, compression methods using a run length method such as the Pack Bits method, which allows compression and decompression with simple logic, are widely used (e.g., patent (see Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-274509

However, in the conventional compression method using the run length method, there was a problem that the compressed data could not be modified when the data was modified.

In particular, in an inkjet printing device, it is necessary to correct the print data in accordance with changes in nozzle status such as positional misalignment or clogging, although it is only a few percent of the total print data. In the conventional compression method using the run length method, because of the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to modify the entire print data and compress and transmit it in order to modify only a few percent of the data. As a result, it has a significant impact on the operation rate of the facility. It is a big task when considering mass production.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a compressed data structure that can easily modify the compressed data when the print data is modified, a print data compression method, and a printing method using the same.

In order to solve the above problem, a compressed data structure is used that includes the number of a plurality of liquid droplet discharge data, each position of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data, and the liquid droplet discharge amount at each position.

In addition, a compressed data structure is used that includes the number of plural droplet discharge data, each position of the plurality of droplet discharge data, and additional information at each position.

In addition, a division process of partitioning the print data, which is a map of the timing of ejection of the droplet and the nozzle position for ejecting the liquid droplet, into certain sections, and a compression process of compressing the print data of the certain section into the compressed data structure described above. Use a print data compression method that includes.

In addition, a print data reading process that reads the print pattern, which is information on the bank of the panel to be printed, a non-ejection nozzle supplementation process that compensates for a clogged nozzle with another nozzle, and a misalignment of the landing position of the liquid droplet ejected from the nozzle occurs. In this case, print data is created from a positional misalignment correction process for changing the ejection timing of the droplet, a print data reading process, a non-ejection nozzle correction process, and a positional misalignment correction process, and the printing is performed using the compressed data structure described above. A compression process for compressing data, a transfer process for transferring the compressed data to an inkjet head, a thawing process for thawing the transferred compressed data into the print data, and the substrate using the thawed print data. A printing method including a printing process for printing is used.

According to the present invention, data can be compressed and decompressed using simple logic, data can be rewritten in a compressed state, and even if discontinuous data exists, it can be compressed without lowering the compression rate.

1 is a block diagram of the liquid droplet ejection process of the inkjet printing device according to Embodiment 1.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing print data used in the inkjet printing device according to Embodiment 1.
3 is (a) a diagram showing print data according to Embodiment 1, (b) a diagram showing print data obtained by applying nozzle supplementation processing to the print data of (a), and (c) a diagram showing print data of (a). This is a diagram showing print data whose positional misalignment has been corrected.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing (a) compressed data when the print data in FIG. 3(a) is compressed with Pack Bits, and (b) compressed data when the print data in FIG. 3(b) is compressed with Pack Bits. (c) This is a diagram showing compressed data when the print data of FIG. 3(c) is compressed by Pack Bits.
Figure 5 is (a) to (b) a flowchart of the liquid droplet ejection process of the inkjet printing device when using a conventional image compression method.
FIG. 6 is a circle graph showing the ratio of ejection pixels of the print data of FIG. 2.
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the first structure of compressed data according to Embodiment 1.
Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a second structure of compressed data according to Embodiment 1.
Figure 9 is a graph showing the ratio of compression section length and discharge pixels in Embodiment 1.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing (a) compressed data when the print data in FIG. 3(a) is compressed using the image compression method of Embodiment 1, and (b) the print data in FIG. 3(b). This is a diagram showing compressed data when compressed using the image compression method of Embodiment 1. (c) Compression when the print data of FIG. 3(c) is compressed using the image compression method of Embodiment 1. It is a drawing representing data.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing (a) compressed data when the print data in FIG. 3(a) is compressed using the image compression method of Embodiment 2, and (b) the print data in FIG. 3(b). This is a diagram showing compressed data when compressed using the image compression method of Embodiment 2. (c) Compression when the print data of FIG. 3(c) is compressed using the image compression method of Embodiment 2. It is a drawing representing data.
Fig. 12 is a flowchart of the operation of the inkjet printing device of Embodiment 3 when the image compression method of Embodiments 1 and 2 (a) to (b) is used.
13 is a diagram showing a compressed data structure by the image compression method of Embodiment 4.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment is an example and is not limited.

(Embodiment 1)

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the image compression method and image compression system of Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Configuration of discharge circuit)

1 is a block diagram of the discharge circuit of the inkjet printing device according to Embodiment 1.

First, the components of the inkjet printing device will be explained using the block diagram in FIG. 1.

There is a substrate 101 to be printed. There is a bank 101a (recessed portion) formed on the substrate 101. The banks 101a are arranged on the substrate 101 at a constant pitch with respect to the print scanning direction (x). The print scanning direction (x) is the direction in which the substrate 101 and the inkjet head 102 move relatively.

One or a plurality of inkjet heads 102 are arranged in a row in the direction (y) perpendicular to the printing scanning direction (x). The inkjet head 102 has a plurality of nozzles 102a. The plurality of nozzles 102a are arranged in a direction (y) perpendicular to the print scanning direction (x).

The print data generation unit 103 is comprised of a print data generator 103a, a print data compressor 103b, and a print data transmitter 103c.

The inkjet head control unit 104 includes a print data receiver 104a, a print data holding memory 104b, a position detector 104c, a print timing generator 104d, a drive signal generator 104e, and a print data defroster 104f. , and consists of a driving signal selector 104g.

(Operation of discharge circuit)

Next, the operation of the inkjet printing device will be explained.

First, the data flow from creation of print data to transmission will be explained.

In the print data generator 103a of the print data generator 103, the design information of the substrate 101 to be printed, the nozzle clogging information of the inkjet head 102, and the positional misalignment information of ink ejection from the nozzle are provided. Based on this, print data for printing is generated.

The print data compressor 103b compresses the print data generated by the print data generator 103a and generates compressed print data.

The print data transmitter 103c transmits the compressed print data generated by the print data compressor 103b to the print data receiver 104a in the inkjet head control unit 104.

The print data receiver 104a stores the compressed print data received from the print data transmitter 103c in the print data storage memory 104b.

Next, the data flow during printing is explained.

During printing, the substrate 101 to be printed moves relative to the inkjet head 102 in the x-direction. At that time, the position detector 104c of the inkjet head control unit 104 detects a change in the relative position of the substrate 101 and generates a timing pulse tailored to the relative position change.

The print timing generator 104d divides the timing pulse output from the position detector 104c based on the print resolution (Rx) and defines the generation timing of the voltage waveform that drives the nozzle 102a of the inkjet head 102. A printing timing signal is generated and output.

The drive signal generator 104e outputs a drive waveform of the nozzle 102a of the inkjet head 102 based on the print timing signal generated by the print timing generator 104d.

The print data defrost unit 104f reads and defrosts the compressed print data stored in the print data storage memory 104b one row at a time based on the print timing signal generated by the print timing generator 104d, and stores the compressed print data stored in the print data storage memory 104b one row at a time. Create print data.

The drive signal selection unit 104g turns on/off the nozzle drive waveform sent from the drive signal generator 104e for each nozzle based on the print data sent from the print data defroster 104f, thereby inking the ink in the inkjet head 102. Controls the presence or absence of discharge.

(Explanation of print image and nozzle supplementation/misalignment correction)

Next, the format of the print data used in Embodiment 1 and the nozzle supplementation and positional misalignment correction performed according to changes in the nozzle state will be explained.

Fig. 2 shows a conceptual diagram of print data used in Embodiment 1.

The longitudinal direction in Figure 2 is taken as a column. This row is in the same direction as the printing operation direction (x) in FIG. 1. The horizontal direction in Figure 2 is taken as a row. This row is in the same direction as the direction (y) orthogonal to the print scanning direction in FIG. 1. Additionally, the grid in Fig. 2 represents pixels of print data, with “1” representing an ejection pixel and “0” representing a non-ejection pixel.

The column direction is the scanning direction in which the nozzle 102a moves relative to the substrate 101. Therefore, the column direction indicates the timing of discharge of liquid droplets from the nozzle 102a. The row direction is the direction of arrangement of the nozzles 102a. As a result, the print data in FIG. 2 is two-dimensional data or a map consisting of the nozzle 102a that discharges and the ejection timing.

Here, the discharge pixel “1” in FIG. 2 is arranged according to the position of the bank 101a of the panel to be printed in FIG. 1, and the number of discharge pixels “1” is required according to the amount of ink supplied to the bank 101a. They are placed according to the number. For example, when discharging twice the amount, the value may be set to 2. The image compression method of Embodiment 1 supports compression of information other than the binary information of “1” and “0,” but to simplify the explanation, here, a black-and-white image of only “1” and “0” is used as an example. do it

3(a) to 3(c) show conceptual diagrams of nozzle compensation and positional misalignment correction performed in the inkjet printing device used in Embodiment 1.

FIG. 3(a) is print data before nozzle supplementation and position misalignment correction, and 128 pieces of data from 0 to 15 columns and 0 to 7 rows of FIG. 2 are extracted as an example.

FIG. 3(b) is an image when the nozzle supplementation process is performed assuming that the nozzles in the 2nd, 8th, and 15th column of the image in FIG. 3(a) are clogged. Here, the 2nd row is replaced with the 1st row, the 8th row with the 7th row, and the 15th row with the 14th row, and by ejecting one row before the ejection timing in FIG. 3(a), the substrate 101, which is the panel in FIG. 1, is replaced. The amount of ink supplied to the bank 101a, which is a pixel, is supplemented.

FIG. 3(c) shows a case where the vertical position of the droplet discharged from the nozzle in the 2nd, 8th, and 15th row of the image in FIG. 3(a) is shifted when it lands on the substrate 101, which is a panel. This is an image when a positional misalignment correction process is performed assuming that this is done. Here, it is assumed that the positions of one pixel in the 2nd, 8th, and 15th columns are all shifted in the vertical direction, and the positional shift when hitting the panel is canceled by advancing the ejection timing by one row.

(Explanation of the conventional method using the Pack Bits compression method as an example)

Here, the Pack Bits method, which is one of the conventional compression methods using the run length method, will be explained using FIGS. 4(a) to 4(c). Here, changes in the image after compression when nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction, which are unique operations in an inkjet printing device, are explained.

Here, the Pack Bits compression method is briefly explained. The Pack Bits compression method is a method of performing compression based on the run length method. In this compression, compression is performed by replacing continuous data with data structures such as “number” and “value” of data. At this time, if the data is continuous, the above “number” is described as “-1 x number of continuous data + 1”. If the data is not continuous, the above “number” is described as “number of non-continuous data - 1”.

Additionally, since the above “number” is described as 1 Byte, if the number of data exceeds 129, either continuous or discontinuous, it is divided and recorded.

Figures 4(a) to 4(c) are compressed data when Figures 3(a) to 3(c) are compressed with Pack Bits. Similar to FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c), FIG. 4(a) shows print data before nozzle supplementation and position misalignment correction, FIG. 4(b) shows print data after nozzle complement, and FIG. 4(c) shows position misalignment. This is print data after correction. 4(a) to 4(c) are described as a one-dimensional array, and the subscript on the data indicates the array number.

In addition, here, the compression process is performed sequentially in the horizontal direction from the top left of the image, and when the 15th column is performed in the horizontal direction, the 0th column of the next row is read, so no operation to divide the compression by row is performed.

Using Figure 4(a) as an example, compression using the Pack Bits method will be briefly explained. Since FIG. 4(a) is the result of compressing FIG. 3(a), the explanation is made with reference to FIG. 3(a). The data in row 0, column 0 in the upper left corner of Figure 3(a) is “0”, and continues until row 0 and column 15, so 16 zeros continue. Therefore, the number of data after compression is calculated as "-1 , “0” indicating the data value is entered in the first line. Similarly, since there are four consecutive “1”s from the 1st row, 0th column to the 1st row, 3rd column in Figure 3(a), “-3” is entered in the 2nd in Figure 4(a), and “1” is entered in the 1st. 」 is entered. By repeating the same process below, FIG. 3(a) is compressed into the data of FIG. 4(a).

Next, using FIGS. 4(b) and 3(b), the results when the image after nozzle supplementation is compressed with Pack Bits will be explained. In Fig. 3(b), because the nozzle has been supplemented, the data in the 0th row, 1st row, 5th row, and 6th row are changing in Figs. 3(a) and 3(b). In the 0th row of Fig. 3(b), “1” is entered in the 1st, 7th, and 14th columns, and continuous data is divided. 1 “0”, 1 “1”, 5 “0”s, 1 “1”, 6 “0”s, 1 “1”, 1 “0”, total It becomes 7 pieces of compressed data. For this reason, there are 13 pieces of data from 0 to 13 in FIG. 4(b), making a total of 14 pieces of data. Compared to Figure 4(a), the data length after compression increases by 12. As the distribution of data changes due to nozzle supplementation as described above, the number of data after compression changes, so the number of data after nozzle supplementation in Fig. 4(b) is 26 without nozzle supplementation, but 66 after nozzle supplementation. It is done.

Next, using FIGS. 4(c) and 3(c), the results when the image after position misalignment correction is compressed by Pack Bits will be explained. In Fig. 3(c), because positional misalignment correction was performed, the data in the 0th row, 1st row, 5th row, and 6th row in Fig. 3(c) are changing. Taking row 0 of Figure 3(c) as an example, continuous data was divided by entering “1” in the 2nd, 8th, and 15th columns, so there are two “0s,” one “1,” and “0.” These 5 pieces, 1 “1”, 6 “0”s, and 3 “1”s (however, it also includes the 0th and 1st column of the next row), make a total of 6 compressed data.

For this reason, there are 11 pieces of data from 0 to 11 in FIG. 4(c), making a total of 12 pieces of data. As a result, compared to FIG. 4(a), the data length after compression increases by 6. As described above, the distribution of data changes due to positional misalignment correction, and thus the number of data after compression changes. For this reason, the number of data after nozzle supplementation in Fig. 4(c) is 58, compared to 26 in the case without nozzle supplementation.

In this way, in the compression method using the run length method (Pack Bits method), compression is performed using data continuity, so if the data continuity changes by performing nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction, the data length changes. . Therefore, when nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction is performed, it is necessary to recompress all data again.

(Process in conventional printing)

5(a) to 5(b) show the operation of an inkjet printer when Pack Bits compression, a conventional compression method, is used. Fig. 5(a) is the operation flow during the first printing, and Fig. 5(b) is the operation when changing the non-ejection correction and position misalignment correction.

First, Fig. 5(a) will be described.

In the print data reading process 501, a print pattern created based on design information of the bank 101a, which is a pixel of the substrate 101, which is the panel to be printed, is read. The printed pattern is the bank 101a on the substrate 101, its position, its size, etc.

In the non-ejection nozzle supplementation process 502, as explained in FIG. 3(b), the clogged nozzle is supplemented with another nozzle or a nearby nozzle for the print data of the print data reading process 501, thereby compensating for the print data to be printed. It supplements the amount of ink supplied to the bank 101a, which is a pixel of the substrate 101.

In the position misalignment correction process 503, when the position of the droplet ejected from each nozzle when it lands is displaced in the longitudinal direction as explained in FIG. 3(c), the ink ejection timing is changed with respect to the print data. The positional misalignment is canceled by doing this.

In the compression process 504, the print data is compressed using the conventional Pack Bits compression method as described in FIG. 4 to create compressed data.

In the transfer process 505, compressed data is transferred from the print data generation unit 103 in FIG. 1 to the inkjet head control unit 104.

In the thawing process and printing process 506, a thawing process of thawing compressed data into print data, a printing data holding memory 104b in accordance with the movement of the substrate 101 as a printing target in FIG. 1, and the thawed printing data This is the process of printing.

Next, Fig. 5(b) shows the process flow when changing non-discharge compensation and positional misalignment correction. As explained in FIG. 4, in the Pack Bits compression method, which is a conventional compression method, when a process that changes data continuity, such as non-discharge compensation or positional misalignment correction, is performed on an image, the data length after compression changes. , when nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction is performed, it is necessary to recompress all data again. Therefore, when using the Pack Bits compression method, which is a conventional compression method, even when changing non-discharge compensation and positional misalignment correction, the same operation as in Fig. 5(a) is performed, and it is necessary to compress the entire data and transmit it again. .

(Description of the concept and data structure of the compression method of Embodiment 1)

The basic concept of the compression method of the embodiment is explained. FIG. 6 shows a circle graph showing the ratio of ejection pixels in the print data of FIG. 2. In the drawing, “1” represents an ejection pixel, and “0” represents a non-ejection pixel. It can be seen that for 8% of the ratio of ejection pixels “1”, non-emission pixels “0” are 92%, and there are overwhelmingly many non-ejection pixels “0”.

The reasons for this are as follows. In the inkjet printer according to Embodiment 1, as explained in FIG. 3(c), the x-direction positional deviation of the landing position of the droplet ejected from each nozzle is corrected using the ink ejection timing. For this reason, the resolution in the x-direction of the printer is set to a sufficiently small value, such as about 1/60, with respect to the pixel pitch in the x-direction of the printing object. As a result, because the setting is small, the number of non-ejected pixels “0” increases.

In the image compression method of Embodiment 1, compression is performed using the bias in establishing the existence of ejection data and non-ejection data unique to the inkjet printer included in this Embodiment 1.

Here, the discharge data is droplet discharge data indicating that liquid droplets are discharged, and may include the amount of droplets.

Therefore, in the image compression method of Embodiment 1, the non-emitted pixel “0”, which has the most established existence, is treated as already known information. In other words, the non-ejection pixel “0” is not handled or is assumed to be absent. The data length is compressed by recording only the information of discharge pixel “1”. We considered compressing the data length by dividing the print data into predetermined lengths called compression section lengths and recording the number of ejection pixels “1” in the divided data and the position and value of each ejection data. In addition, the length of the compression section is determined in advance before compression according to the amount of memory that can be secured by the compressor and the decompressor, and a common value is used for the compression and decompressor.

Here, the compression section length is the length when data is divided into certain sections and processed. However, it is desirable to determine the length of the compression section according to the amount of information that the controller can process. Therefore, if the amount of information that the controller can process is greater than the entire information amount, the entire information may be processed once.

In this compression method, after securing the data area of the compression section length at the time of decompression, the data is initialized as non-ejected data based on the relative position and value of each ejected data in the compressed data. The data before compression is restored by overwriting the discharged data in the area. Since this thawing process is a process of placing points of ejection pixels in the space filled with non-ejection pixel information, the image compression method of Embodiment 1 is called Put Bits compression.

(Data structure of embodiment, data compression method)

Figure 7 shows the data structure and compression method of Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1.

First, the compression section is determined as above. That is, next, the print data is compressed with the following data structure.

The data structure initially has the number of ejection pixels “1” within a predetermined compression section, that is, the number of droplet ejection data (701). Next, there is a relative position 702 based on the head of each section of the first discharge pixel “1”. Next, there is the value of the first discharge pixel “1”, that is, the droplet discharge amount 703. There is a relative position 704 based on the head of each section of the second discharge pixel “1”. There is a second discharge pixel with a value of “1”, a droplet discharge amount (705). There is a relative position 706 based on the head of each section of the nth discharge pixel “1”. There is the value of the nth discharge pixel “1”, the liquid droplet discharge amount 707.

Here, the order in which each discharge pixel is described does not necessarily have to be in ascending or descending order.

In addition, in the image compression method of Embodiment 1, the data capacity (l _c ) after compression can be obtained from Equation 1 below.

Here, the data capacity before compression (l _e ), the length of the compression section (n), and the ratio of discharged pixels “1” in the compressed image (p).

In addition, the compression ratio (r _c ) is obtained as shown in Equation 2 by dividing the data capacity before compression (l _e ) by the data capacity after compression (l _c ).

Here, it is the data compression rate (r _c ). From Equation 2, it can be seen that the compression ratio of the compression method of Embodiment 1 is obtained by the compression section length (n) and the ratio (p) of the discharge pixel “1” in the compressed image.

In addition, in order for the compression method of Embodiment 1 to function effectively as a data compression method, at least r _c > 1 is required, so the following equation holds.

In other words, in order for the image compression method of Embodiment 1 to function effectively as data compression, the relationship between the compression section length (n) and the ratio (p) of discharged pixels “1” in the compressed image must satisfy Equation 3. There is a need.

Figure 9 shows a graph of Equation 3. The vertical axis of FIG. 9 represents the ratio (p) of ejection pixels “1”, and the horizontal axis represents the compression section length (n). 9, as the compression section length (n) increases, the ratio (p) of the discharge pixel “1” asymptotes to 0.5. From this, it can be seen that in order for the image compression method of Embodiment 1 to function effectively as data compression, the ratio of non-ejected pixels “0” in the print data to be compressed must be at least 50% or more.

In addition, due to hardware constraints during compression and decompression, the compression section length (n) is the data of the relative positions 702, 704, and 706 based on the head of each section of the first discharge pixel “1” in FIG. 7. If it becomes a small value, the compression rate can be increased by dividing one data position and recording the positions of multiple data.

For example, due to hardware constraints during compression and decompression, if the compression section length (n) is 16 Bytes and the data type of the data position is 1 Byte, 1 Byte representing the data position can represent 256 data positions from 0 to 255. there is. However, in this case, since the data position only represents 16 data positions from 0 to 15, the remaining 16 to 255 are useless.

Therefore, as shown in Figure 8, 1 byte of the data position is divided into upper and lower 4 bits, and 16 position information from 0 to 15 are recorded. As a result, two data positions can be recorded in one byte, thereby increasing the recording density and improving the compression rate.

Here, ejection pixel “1” within a predetermined section is the number (701) of droplet ejection data. The relative positions of the first and second discharge pixels “1” based on the beginning of each section are the relative positions 802. The value of the first discharge pixel “1” is the droplet discharge amount (803). The value of the second discharge pixel “1” is the droplet discharge amount (804). The relative position of the third and fourth discharge pixels “1” based on the head of each section is the relative position 805. The value of the third discharge pixel “1” is the droplet discharge amount (806). The value of the fourth discharge pixel “1” is the droplet discharge amount (807). The relative position of the n-th and n+1-th discharge pixels “1” based on the head of each section is the relative position 808. The value of the nth discharge pixel “1” is the droplet discharge amount (809). The value of the n+1th discharge pixel “1” is the droplet discharge amount (810).

(Explanation when all images are compressed at once using the compression method of Embodiment 1)

Here, Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1 described in FIG. 7, will be explained using FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c).

FIGS. 10(a) to 10(c) are data obtained when FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) are compressed using Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1.

Similar to FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c), FIG. 10(a) shows print data before nozzle supplementation and position misalignment correction, FIG. 10(b) shows print data after nozzle complement, and FIG. 10(c) shows position misalignment. The print data has been corrected.

10(a) to 10(c) are described as a one-dimensional array, and the subscript on the data indicates the array number.

In addition, here, the compression process is performed sequentially in the horizontal direction from the top left of the image, and in order to batch the data, when the compression process is performed up to the 15th column in the horizontal direction, the 0th column of the next row is read.

Using Figure 10(a) as an example, the compression process using Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, will be briefly explained. Since FIG. 10(a) is the result of compressing FIG. 3(a), the explanation is made with reference to FIG. 3(a). Here, the length of the compression section in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, is set to 128. In Figure 3(a), there are a total of 128 pieces of data, of which the non-ejected pixel “0” exists in the 1st and 6th rows, 4 in the 0th to 3rd columns, and 4 in the 6th to 9th columns, respectively. 4 in the 12th to 15th columns, a total of 24.

For this reason, "24" is recorded as the number of data in the compression section in the 0th data in Fig. 10(a), and then the relative position and value from 0 row, 0 column of each data are recorded. Here, the ejection pixel “1” in the 1st row, 0th column in Fig. 3(a) will be explained as an example. Since the data in the 1st row, 0th column in Figure 3(a) is the 16th data counting to the right from the 0th row, 0th column, the data position "16" is recorded in the 1st data in Figure 10(a). , the data value “1” is recorded in the second data.

As for Fig. 3(a), by performing the same process for the remaining 23 pieces of data, the result as in Fig. 10(a) is obtained, in which 128 pieces of data are compressed into 49 pieces of data.

Next, using Fig. 10(b) and Fig. 3(b), the results of nozzle supplementation of the Put Bits compressed image, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, will be explained. In Fig. 3(b), since nozzle supplementation has been performed, the data in the 0th row, 1st row, 5th row, and 6th row are changing in Figs. 3(a) and (b). Regarding the effect of data changes, in the 0th and 1st rows of Figure 3(a), the discharge pixel “1” goes from the 1st row and 2nd column to the 0th row and 1st column, from the 1st row and 8th column to the 0th row and 7th column, and the 1st row. It is moving from row 15 to row 0 and column 14.

Additionally, in the 5th and 6th rows, the discharge pixel “1” moves from the 6th row and 2nd column to the 5th row and 1st column, from the 6th row and 8th column to the 5th row and 7th column, and from the 6th row and 15th column to the 5th row and 14th column. As described above, in nozzle complementation, when one pixel changes from an ejection pixel “1” to a non-ejection pixel “0”, the nearby non-ejection pixel “0” changes into an ejection pixel.

This operation can be performed directly on compressed data in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1. FIG. 10(b) is the result of nozzle supplementation performed in FIG. 3(b) on the compressed data in FIG. 10(a). The triangle marks on the subscripts of each data in Fig. 10(b) indicate data change points.

As described above, in nozzle supplementation, when one pixel changes from ejection pixel “1” to non-ejection pixel “0”, the nearby non-ejection pixel “0” changes to ejection pixel “1”, so within the same compression section The process of supplementing the back discharge pixel “1” can be handled by rewriting the position of discharge pixel “1” in the compressed data.

Here, an example will be described in which the discharge pixel “1” in the 1st row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(a) has moved to the 0th row, 1st column in FIG. 3(b). In FIG. 3(a), the ejection pixel "1" is recorded in the first row and second column. In FIG. 10(a), the positional information "18" is recorded in the fifth data, and the value "1" is recorded in the sixth data.

Therefore, in Fig. 10(a), the positional information “18” of the 5th data is rewritten as “1”, which is the positional information of the 0th row and 1st column in Fig. 3(b), thereby changing the positional information to “1”, which is the positional information of the 0th row and 1st column in Fig. 3(b). The tenth ejection pixel “1” has moved to the 0th row, 1st column in FIG. 3(b). In Figure 10(b), the nozzle supplementation process is performed by performing the same process for the 13th, 23rd, 29th, 37th, and 47th data. As described above, in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, the number of data after compression does not change even if nozzle supplementation is performed.

Next, using FIGS. 10(c) and 3(c), the results when positional misalignment is corrected for an image compressed with Put Bits, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, will be explained. In Fig. 3(c), because positional misalignment correction was performed, the data in the 0th row, 1st row, 5th row, and 6th row are changing in Figs. 3(a) and (c).

Regarding the effect of data changes, in the 0th and 1st rows of Fig. 3(a), the discharge pixel “1” goes from the 1st row and 2nd column to the 0th row and 2nd column, from the 1st row and 8th column to the 0th row and 8th column, and the 1st row. It is moving from the 15th column to row 0 and the 15th column. Additionally, in the 5th and 6th rows, the discharge pixel “1” moves from the 6th row and 2nd column to the 5th row and 2nd column, from the 6th row and 8th column to the 5th row and 8th column, and from the 6th row and 15th column to the 5th row and 15th column. As described above, in position misalignment correction, when one pixel changes from the ejection pixel “1” to the non-emission pixel “0”, the non-ejection pixel “0” in the same row changes to the ejection pixel “1”.

This operation can be performed directly on compressed data in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1. FIG. 10(c) is the result of the positional misalignment correction performed in FIG. 3(c) on the compressed data in FIG. 10(a). The triangle marks on the subscripts of each data in Fig. 10(c) indicate data change points. As described above, in position misalignment correction, when one pixel changes from ejection pixel “1” to non-ejection pixel “0”, the non-ejection pixel “0” in the same row changes to ejection pixel “1”, so the same compression section The process of correcting the positional misalignment of the internal discharge pixel “1” can be handled by rewriting the position of the discharge pixel “1” in the compressed data.

Here, an example will be described where the discharge pixel “1” in the 1st row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(a) is moved to the 0th row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(b). In FIG. 3(a), the ejection pixel "1" is recorded in the first row and second column. In FIG. 10(a), the positional information "18" is recorded in the fifth data, and the value "1" is recorded in the sixth data. Therefore, in FIG. 10(a), the positional information "18" of the 5th data is rewritten as "2", which is the positional information of the 0th row and 2nd column in FIG. 3(b), so that 1st row 2 in FIG. 3(a) The tenth discharge pixel “1” has moved to row 0, column 2, in FIG. 3(b). In Fig. 10(b), the position misalignment correction process is performed by performing the same process for the 13th, 23rd, 29th, 37th, and 47th data.

As described above, in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, the number of data after compression does not change even if positional misalignment correction is performed.

(Embodiment 2)

Embodiment 2 is a case where the discharge image is compressed row by row using the compression method of Embodiment 1. Matters not explained are the same as in Embodiment 1.

Next, explanation will be made using FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c).

FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c) are data obtained when FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) are compressed using Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 2, and FIG. 3( Similar to Figures a) to Figure 3(c), Figure 11(a) is print data before nozzle supplementation and position misalignment correction, Figure 11(b) is print data after nozzle complementation, and Figure 11(c) is print data after position misalignment correction. It is data. 11(a) to 11(c) are described as a one-dimensional array, and the subscript on the data indicates the array number.

In addition, here, the compression process is performed sequentially in the horizontal direction from the top left of the image.

Using FIG. 11(a) as an example, the compression process using Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, will be briefly explained. Since FIG. 11(a) is the result of compressing FIG. 3(a), the description is made with reference to FIG. 3(a). Here, the compression section length in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, is set to 16, which is the data length of row 1 in Fig. 3(a). In addition, when the data of discharge pixel “1” moves beyond the compression section, rewritable data in discharge pixel “1” needs to exist in the compression section of the destination, so when data is compressed, non-ejection within the compression section must be present. Even if there is zero data, rewriting of the ejection data is possible by arranging a certain number of dummy ejection data.

Dummy ejection data is free as long as it does not overlap with other ejection data in terms of position information, but its value is always set to non-ejection data “0”. Here, as an example, a case of embedding three dummy discharge data for each discharge section will be described. The number of dummy ejection data is determined in advance at the time of data compression according to the frequency of occurrence of blockage or changes in the ejection position of the inkjet head used. This time, three dummy discharge data will be explained.

If FIG. 3(a) is compressed for each row with three dummy ejection data embedded as described above, it becomes as shown in FIG. 11(a). Here, the embedding of dummy ejection data is explained using the 0th row of Fig. 3(a) as an example. In row 0 of Fig. 3(a), all data is non-ejected data, so normally, the data after compression would be only “0”, which is the number of uncompressed data. However, in this case, three pieces of dummy ejected data are embedded, so the ejected data is The number of data becomes “3”, and “3” is recorded in the 0th data in Fig. 11(a). In addition, since the data value of each dummy discharge data is 0, the 1st to 6th data in FIG. 11(a) all record 0.

Next, in the first row of Figure 3(a), there are 4 pieces of data from the 0th to the 3rd column, 4 pieces from the 6th to the 9th column, and 4 pieces from the 12th to the 15th column, a total of 12 pieces of data, so in Figure 11 “12” is recorded in the 7th data in (a), and the relative positions and values of each discharge data are recorded in the 8th to 31st data in FIG. 11(a).

Here, the ejection pixel “1” in the 1st row, 0th column in Fig. 3(a) will be explained as an example. Since the data in the 1st row, 0th column in Figure 3(a) is the 0th data counting to the right from the 1st row, 0th column, the data position "0" is recorded in the 8th data in Figure 11(a). , the data value “1” is recorded in the second data. By performing this process on the remaining 2nd to 7th rows of Fig. 3(a), the result shown in Fig. 11(a) is obtained, in which 128 pieces of data are compressed into 91 pieces of data.

Next, using FIGS. 11(b) and 3(b), the results when nozzle supplementation is given to an image compressed for each row using Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, will be explained. In Fig. 3(b), since nozzle supplementation has been performed, the data in the 0th row, 1st row, 5th row, and 6th row are changing in Figs. 3(a) and (b). Regarding the effect of data changes, in the 0th and 1st rows of Figure 3(a), the discharge pixel “1” goes from the 1st row and 2nd column to the 0th row and 1st column, from the 1st row and 8th column to the 0th row and 7th column, and the 1st row. It is moving from row 15 to row 0 and column 14.

Additionally, in the 5th and 6th rows, the discharge pixel “1” moves from the 6th row and 2nd column to the 5th row and 1st column, from the 6th row and 8th column to the 5th row and 7th column, and from the 6th row and 15th column to the 5th row and 14th column. As described above, in nozzle complementation, when one pixel changes from the discharge pixel “1” to the non-emission pixel “0”, the nearby non-ejection pixel “0” changes to the discharge pixel “1”. This operation can be performed directly on compressed data in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1.

FIG. 11(b) is the result of nozzle supplementation performed in FIG. 3(b) on the compressed data in FIG. 11(a). The triangle marks on the subscripts of each data in Fig. 11(b) indicate data change points. As described above, in nozzle complementation, when one pixel changes from ejection pixel “1” to non-ejection pixel “0”, the nearby non-ejection pixel “0” changes to ejection pixel “1”, so ejection pixel “1” The process of complementing "rewrites the value of the target discharge pixel "1" to the non-ejection pixel "0", and sets the position of the dummy discharge pixel in the compression section of the nozzle complementation destination to the position of the pixel of the nozzle complementation destination, This can be countered by rewriting the value to the discharge pixel “1”.

Here, an example will be described in which the discharge pixel “1” in the 1st row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(a) has moved to the 0th row, 1st column in FIG. 3(b). In FIG. 3(a), the ejection pixel "1" is recorded in the 1st row and 2nd column. In FIG. 11(a), the positional information "2" is recorded in the 12th data, and the value "1" is recorded in the 13th data.

Therefore, in Fig. 11(a), the value "1" of the 13th data is rewritten as "0", thereby changing the ejection pixel "1" in the 1st row and 2nd column to the non-emission pixel "0".

Next, since the data in the 0th row, 1st column of FIG. 3(b) is written to the dummy discharge data of the 0th row compression section, the 1st data in FIG. 11(b) is added to the 0th row of FIG. 3(b). By writing “1”, which is the positional information in the first column, and “1”, which is the value of the first column in row 0 of Fig. 3 (b), to the second data in Fig. 11 (b), the non-ejection pixel “0” is converted into an ejection pixel “ Change it to 1”.

Through the above procedure, the discharge pixel “1” in the 1st row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(a) is moved to the 0th row, 1st column in FIG. 3(b). In Fig. 11(b), the process of rewriting the value of the ejection pixel “1” to the non-emission pixel “0” is similarly performed for 21, 31, 66, 74, and 84, and the position and value of the dummy ejection pixel are stored in the ejection pixel. The nozzle supplementation process is performed by performing the rewriting process to “1” for numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59.

As described above, in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, the number of data after compression does not change even if nozzle supplementation is performed.

Next, using FIGS. 11(c) and 3(c), the results when positional misalignment is corrected for an image compressed with Put Bits, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, will be explained. In Fig. 3(c), because positional misalignment correction was performed, the data in the 0th row, 1st row, 5th row, and 6th row are changing in Figs. 3(a) and (c).

Regarding the effect of data changes, in the 0th and 1st rows of Fig. 3(a), the discharge pixel “1” goes from the 1st row and 2nd column to the 0th row and 2nd column, from the 1st row and 8th column to the 0th row and 8th column, and the 1st row. It is moving from the 15th column to row 0 and the 15th column. Additionally, in the 5th and 6th rows, the discharge pixel “1” moves from the 6th row and 2nd column to the 5th row and 2nd column, from the 6th row and 8th column to the 5th row and 8th column, and from the 6th row and 15th column to the 5th row and 15th column. As described above, in position misalignment correction, when one pixel changes from the ejection pixel “1” to the non-emission pixel, the non-ejection pixel in the same row changes to the ejection pixel “1”.

This operation can be performed directly on compressed data in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1. FIG. 11(c) is the result of the positional misalignment correction performed in FIG. 3(c) on the compressed data in FIG. 11(a). The triangle marks on the subscripts of each data in Fig. 10(c) indicate data change points.

As described above, in nozzle compensation, when one pixel changes from ejection pixel “1” to a non-ejection pixel, the non-ejection pixels in the same row change to ejection pixel “1”, so the position misalignment of ejection pixel “1” is corrected. In the process, the value of the target discharge pixel “1” is rewritten in the non-discharge pixel, and the position of the dummy discharge pixel in the compressed section of the misalignment correction destination is set to the position of the pixel of the misalignment correction destination, and the value is set to the discharge pixel “ You can respond by rewriting to “1”.

Here, an example will be described in which the discharge pixel “1” in the 1st row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(a) has moved to the 0th row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(c). In FIG. 3(a), the ejection pixel "1" is recorded in the 1st row and 2nd column. In FIG. 11(a), the positional information "2" is recorded in the 12th data, and the value "1" is recorded in the 13th data.

Therefore, in Fig. 11(a), the ejection pixel “1” in the first row and second column is changed to a non-emission pixel by rewriting the value “1” of the 13th data as “0”. Next, since the data in the 0th row and 2nd column of FIG. 3(b) is written for the dummy discharge data of the compression section in the 0th row, the 1st data in FIG. 11(c) is added to the 0th row and 2nd column in FIG. 3(b). By writing "2", which is the tenth position information, and "1", which is the value of the 0th row, 2nd column in Fig. 3 (b), to the second data in Fig. 11 (c), the non-ejection pixel is changed to ejection pixel "1". do.

Through the above procedure, the discharge pixel “1” in the 1st row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(a) is moved to the 0th row, 2nd column in FIG. 3(c). In Figure 11(c), the process of similarly rewriting the value of discharge pixel “1” to the non-ejection pixel is performed for 21, 31, 66, 74, and 84, and the position and value of the dummy discharge pixel are stored in discharge pixel “1”. A positional misalignment correction process is performed by performing a rewriting process on numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59. As described above, in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, the number of data after compression does not change even if positional misalignment correction is performed.

In Embodiment 1, all data is compressed into one lump. Therefore, when the amount of data becomes large, cases in which compression is difficult occur depending on the expressible range of the “data type of the data position.”

In Embodiment 2, rather than compressing into one lump, the data is divided into multiple sections and compressed, and the section for one compression is set as the expressible range of the “data type of data position.” This allows better response even when the amount of data becomes large.

However, in order to be able to respond even when data movement occurs between compression sections, rewriting was handled by embedding 0 data in advance.

(Embodiment 3)

A printing method when compressed using the compression methods of Embodiments 1 and 2 will be described as Embodiment 3. Matters not described are the same as in embodiments 1 and 2.

In this way, in Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiments 1 and 2, the data length does not change even if nozzle supplementation or position misalignment correction is performed. Therefore, even when nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction is performed, it is possible to respond only by correcting the changed portion without recompressing the entire data again.

FIG. 12(a) and FIG. 12(b) show the operation of the inkjet printer when Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiments 1 and 2, is used. FIG. 12(a) is the operation flow during the first printing, and FIG. 12(b) is the operation when changing non-ejection correction and position misalignment correction.

First, Fig. 12(a) will be described. In FIG. 12(a), the compression method used in the compression process 507, the defrosting process, and the printing process 508 is the same as that in FIG. 5, except that Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1, is used. It is a process. In other words, when printing for the first time, it is necessary to compress and transmit all data using Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiment 1.

Specifically, the description will be made using FIG. 5(a).

In the print data reading process 501, a print pattern created based on design information of the bank 101a, which is a pixel of the substrate 101, which is the panel to be printed, is read.

In the non-ejection nozzle supplementation process 502, the clogged nozzle is compensated with a nearby nozzle. This supplements the amount of ink supplied to the bank 101a, which is a pixel of the substrate 101, which is the printing target.

In the position misalignment correction process 503, when the position of the droplet ejected from each nozzle when it lands is displaced in the longitudinal direction, the position misalignment is canceled by changing the ink ejection timing.

In the compression process 504, compression is performed using the compression method of Embodiment 1 or 2.

In the transfer process 505, compressed data is transferred from the print data generation unit 103 in FIG. 1 to the inkjet head control unit 104.

In the thawing process and the printing process 506, printing is performed while sequentially thawing the compressed data stored in the print data storage memory 104b in accordance with the movement of the substrate 101 as the printing target in FIG. 1.

Even in this first time flow, the amount of data is smaller than before, so it can be processed in a short time.

Next, what happens after the first printing is explained. Fig. 12(b) will be explained. In Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiments 1 and 2, even when nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction is performed, only the changed portion can be corrected without re-compressing the entire data again. For this reason, after the first printing, when non-ejection correction or positional misalignment correction is changed, there is no need to perform the compression process 504 and the transfer process 505 as shown in FIG. 5(b), and instead, the compressed data A rewriting process (509) may be performed.

In this compressed data rewriting process, only the changed portions of the print data generated at 103a in FIG. 1 are bypassed by 103b, and the print data holding memory 104b is stored via the print data transmitter 103c and the print data receiver 104a. ) partially rewrites the compressed print data on

Therefore, when Put Bits compression, which is the image compression method of Embodiments 1 and 2, is used as shown in Figure 12(b), when non-discharge compensation or positional misalignment correction is changed, there is no need to compress and retransmit the entire data. Nozzle supplementation or positional misalignment correction can be performed in a shorter time than when using the Pack Bits method, which is one of the compression methods.

That is, when a newly clogged nozzle occurs, or when a new droplet landing position misalignment occurs, the non-ejection nozzle complementation process 502 or the position misalignment correction process 503 is not performed, and the transmitted compressed data This can be handled in the compressed data rewriting process 509 that rewrites.

From the above, according to the image compression method of this embodiment, nozzle supplementation and positional misalignment correction can be performed in a shorter time than the conventional method.

(Embodiment 4)

Embodiment 4 explains an image compression method when each pixel of an ejection image includes additional information in addition to information indicating ejection or non-ejection. Additional information may include discharge volume information, discharge timing correction information, etc., but is not limited to this. Matters not explained are the same as in Embodiment 1. By including additional information as data, better printing is possible. Matters not described are the same as in embodiments 1 to 3.

Next, additional information will be explained. Information on discharge or non-discharge may be included in the same information as the discharge volume information in the additional information. The discharge volume information is information that changes the amount of liquid droplets discharged from each nozzle at each discharge timing.

The discharge timing correction information is information that changes the timing at which droplets are discharged from the nozzle by a small amount. A small amount is one cycle or less of liquid droplet discharge. Preferably, it may be less than a half cycle. Additionally, one cycle is a cycle in which droplets are continuously applied between banks. More preferably, one quarter cycle or less is preferred. One eighth cycle or less is more preferable. This is to prevent accidental application to adjacent banks.

Therefore, in the image compression method of Embodiment 4, it was considered to treat the non-emitted pixel “0” with the highest probability of existence as already known information and compress the data length by recording only the additional data “other than 0”.

We considered compressing the data length by dividing the print data into predetermined lengths called compression section lengths and recording the number, position, and value of “non-zero” output data within the divided data. In addition, the length of the compression section is determined in advance before compression according to the amount of memory that can be secured by the compressor and the decompressor, and a common value is used for the compression and decompressor.

Here, the compression section length is the length when data is divided into certain sections and processed. However, it is desirable to determine the length of the compression section according to the amount of information that the controller can process. Therefore, if the amount of information that the controller can process is greater than the entire information amount, the entire information may be processed once.

In this compression method, after securing the data area of the compression section length at the time of decompression, the data is initialized to non-ejected data “0”, and based on each additional data and value in the compressed data, the data initialized to the non-ejected data Data before compression is restored by overwriting additional data in the area.

<Data structure of embodiment 4>

Fig. 13 shows the data structure of the image compression method of Embodiment 3. First, there is a predetermined number of ejection pixels in the compression section A and the number of droplet ejection data (1301). Next, there are the number of ejection pixels in the predetermined section B and the number of droplet ejection data (1302).

There is a relative position 1303 of the first discharge pixel in the compression section A based on the head of each section. There is additional information 1304 and the value of the first discharge pixel in the compression section A.

There is a relative position 1305 of the second discharge pixel in the compression section A based on the head of each section. There is additional information 1306, the value of the second discharge pixel in the compression section A. There is a relative position 1307 of the nth discharge pixel in the compression section A based on the head of each section. There is the value of the nth discharge pixel in the compression section (A) and additional information 1308. In this case, the number 1301 of droplet discharge data is n.

There is a relative position 1309 of the first discharge pixel in the section B based on the head of each section. There is the value of the first ejection pixel in the section B and additional information 1310. There is a relative position 1311 of the mth discharge pixel in the section B based on the head of each section. There is the value of the mth discharge pixel in the section B and additional information 1312. In this case, the number 1302 of droplet discharge data is m.

Here, the order in which each discharge pixel is described does not necessarily have to be in ascending or descending order. In addition, although data from two sections are combined and described here, it may be one section or three sections or more.

＜Effect＞

In the above embodiment, even when there is not a lot of continuous data, it can be compressed at a high compression rate. For this reason, the data transfer time is shortened and has little effect on the operation rate of the device.

Additionally, the data can be compressed at a high compression rate by including not only positional information but also additional information such as discharge timing correction information and discharge volume information.

＜Overall＞

Although the embodiment has been described as an inkjet device, it can be widely applied to devices that apply liquid droplets from a nozzle.

Embodiments 1 to 4 can be combined.

Using the image compression method and image compression system of the present invention, it becomes possible to rewrite data in a compressed state using simple logic, so that, for example, print data can be changed at high speed due to changes in the nozzle condition of an inkjet printing device. It can be done with

In addition, for this reason, it is useful for use in a droplet discharge type printing device for applying and forming an organic luminescent material in the production of an organic EL display panel, for example.

101: substrate 101a: bank
102: inkjet head 102a: nozzle
103: Print data generator 103a: Print data generator
103b: Print data compressor 103c: Print data transmitter
104: inkjet head control unit 104a: print data receiver
104b: Print data retention memory 104c: Position detector
104d: printing timing generator 104e: driving signal generator
104f: Print data defroster 501: Print data reading process
502: Non-discharge nozzle supplementation process 503: Correction process
504: Compression process 505: Transmission process
506: Printing process 507: Compression process
508: Printing process 509: Compressed data rewriting process
701: Number of droplet discharge data 702: Relative position
703: Droplet discharge amount 704: Relative position
705: Droplet discharge amount 706: Relative position
707: Droplet discharge amount 802: Relative position
803: Liquid droplet discharge amount 804: Liquid droplet discharge amount
805: Relative position 806: Droplet discharge amount
807: Droplet discharge amount 808: Relative position
809: Liquid droplet discharge amount 810: Liquid droplet discharge amount
1301: Number of droplet discharge data 1302: Number of droplet discharge data
1303: Relative position 1304: Additional information
1305: Relative position 1306: Additional information
1307: Relative position 1308: Additional information
1309: Relative position 1310: Additional information
1311: Relative location 1312: Additional information

Claims (10)

A memory device in which print data, which is a map of droplet ejection timing and a nozzle position for ejecting the droplet, is divided into certain sections, and a compressed data structure for compressing the print data in the certain section is recorded,
The compressed data structure is,
The number of plural droplet ejection data,
Each position of the plurality of droplet ejection data on the map,
Including the liquid droplet discharge amount at each position,
When the number of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data is n and the ratio of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data in the compressed image is p, the following equation holds in the compressed data structure. A memory device.
In claim 1,
The compressed data structure is,
The number of droplet ejection data in the dummy,
The position of the liquid droplet discharge data of the dummy,
A memory device further comprising non-ejection data “0” at the position of the liquid droplet ejection data of the dummy. A memory device in which print data, which is a map of droplet ejection timing and a nozzle position for ejecting the droplet, is divided into certain sections, and a compressed data structure for compressing the print data in the certain section is recorded,
The compressed data structure is,
The number of plural droplet ejection data,
Each position of the plurality of droplet ejection data on the map,
Contains additional information at each of the above locations,
When the number of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data is n and the ratio of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data in the compressed image is p, the following equation holds in the compressed data structure. A memory device.
In claim 3,
The additional information is at least one of discharge volume information and droplet discharge timing correction information. In claim 1,
A memory device comprising a plurality of the compressed data structures. delete A segmentation process for dividing print data, which is a map of the timing of ejection of droplets and the position of a nozzle for ejecting the droplets, into predetermined sections;
A compression process of compressing the print data of the certain section into a compressed data structure,
The compressed data structure is,
The number of plural droplet ejection data,
Each position of the plurality of droplet ejection data on the map,
A compressed data structure containing the amount of liquid droplets discharged at each position,
When the number of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data is n and the ratio of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data in the compressed image is p, the following equation holds true in the compressed data structure. A print data compression method.
A print data reading process that reads a print pattern, which is information about the bank of the panel to be printed,
A non-discharge nozzle supplementation process to compensate for a clogged nozzle with another nozzle,
When a misalignment of the landing position of the droplet discharged from the nozzle occurs, a position misalignment correction step of changing the discharge timing of the droplet;
Print data, which is a map of the droplet ejection timing and the nozzle position for ejecting the droplet, is created from the print data reading process, the non-ejection nozzle supplementation process, and the position misalignment correction process, and the print data is compressed using a compressed data structure. A compression process performed,
A transmission process for transmitting the compressed data to an inkjet head;
a thawing process of thawing the transmitted compressed data into the print data;
A printing process of printing on the panel using the thawed print data,
The compressed data structure is,
The number of plural droplet ejection data,
Each position of the plurality of droplet ejection data on the map,
A compressed data structure containing the amount of liquid droplets discharged at each position,
When the number of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data is n and the ratio of the plurality of liquid droplet discharge data in the compressed image is p, the following equation holds in the compressed data structure. A printing method.
In claim 8,
In addition, when a newly clogged nozzle occurs, or when a misalignment of the droplet landing position newly occurs, compression in which the transmitted compressed data is rewritten without performing the non-ejection nozzle supplementation process or the position misalignment correction process. A printing method that performs a data rewriting process. In claim 1,
The number of the plurality of droplet ejection data is the number of ejection pixels “1” within the predetermined compression section.

Images