KR20210148920A - Apparatus for creating printing data and control device of ink application apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a data generating device for printing capable of reducing the data capacity of the data for printing. The data generating device for printing generates printing data for designating an application position of an ink. The data for printing comprises: a basic image data that designates an ink application position in each of a plurality of unit areas defined on a surface of an object to be drawn; a position information that designates each position of the plurality of unit areas on the surface of the object to be drawn; and an association construction information that associate-constructs each of a plurality of unit areas with any one among a plurality of base image data. One common base image data, among the plurality of unit areas, is associated with respect to a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the unit area.

Description

Apparatus FOR CREATING PRINTING DATA AND CONTROL DEVICE OF INK APPLICATION APPARATUS

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-095681 filed on June 1, 2020. The entire contents of the application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating data for printing, and a control apparatus for an ink application apparatus.

A dot spacer for preventing a short circuit of two conductive films is used in a resistive touch panel. The dot spacer is composed of a plurality of dots made of an insulating material regularly distributed in the plane. In Patent Document 1 below, a technique for forming a dot spacer by spraying ink on a dot spacer forming surface using an inkjet printer is disclosed. When a desired pattern is drawn using an inkjet printer, image data in a raster format is used to control the discharge of ink from the inkjet head. Raster format image data is generally generated by converting vector format data created using CAD. The raster-format image data is defined by a plurality of pixels arranged over substantially the entire area of the surface to which ink is to be applied.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-139162

When the range to which ink is to be applied is widened and the resolution is increased, the number of pixels in the image data for printing (data for printing) becomes a vast number. As the number of pixels increases, the time required to convert the vector format image data into the raster format image data becomes longer. In addition, the data capacity of the data for printing becomes large.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing data generating apparatus and an ink applying apparatus capable of reducing the data capacity of printing data.

According to one aspect of the present invention,

A data generating device for printing that is provided to an ink applying device that discharges ink from an inkjet head to apply ink to a surface to be drawn, and generates printing data for designating an application position of the ink, the printing data generating device comprising:

The data for printing is

basic image data for designating an ink application position in each of a plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn;

position information for designating respective positions of the plurality of unit regions on the surface to be drawn;

and association information for associating each of the plurality of unit regions with any one of the plurality of base image data,

A printing data generating apparatus is provided for generating the printing data by associating one common basic image data with respect to a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the unit area among the plurality of unit areas. .

According to another aspect of the present invention,

An inkjet head for discharging ink into droplets;

Controlling an ink applying apparatus having a moving mechanism for moving one of the inkjet head and the substrate relative to the other by placing a substrate at a position opposite to the inkjet head;

A control device for applying ink to an ink application position on the drawing surface by controlling the inkjet head and the moving mechanism based on printing data for designating an ink application position on the drawing surface of the substrate,

The data for printing is

basic image data for designating an ink application position in each of a plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn;

and position information for designating each position of the plurality of unit regions on the surface to be drawn;

A control device is provided in which, among the plurality of unit areas, one common basic image data is associated with respect to a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the unit area.

Among the plurality of unit areas, since one common basic image data is associated with respect to a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the unit area, the data capacity of the printing data can be reduced.

Fig. 1A is a schematic front view of an apparatus for generating data for printing according to an embodiment, and an ink application apparatus for performing drawing using image data generated by the data generating apparatus for printing, and Fig. 1B is a movable table, ink It is a figure which shows the positional relationship in the planar view of a discharge unit and an imaging device.
2 : is a top view which shows the writing area which arrange|positions the pattern formed on the surface of a board|substrate.
Fig. 3A is a diagram showing a drawing surface and one drawing area therein, and Fig. 3B is a diagram showing various types of information included in drawing information.
4A and 4B are diagrams each 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 data for printing.
Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of a plurality of unit regions in a surface to be drawn.
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing another example of arrangement of a plurality of unit regions in a surface to be drawn.
8A is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a plurality of drawing areas and unit areas in a surface to be drawn designated by data for printing generated by a data generating apparatus for printing according to another embodiment, and 8B in FIG. 8 is a unit area It is a figure which shows the association|correlation of and base image data.
Fig. 9 is a view showing the movement trajectory of the inkjet head with respect to the substrate when the dot pattern is formed by the ink applying apparatus according to the present embodiment.
Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the movement trajectory of the inkjet head in the case of applying ink using the printing data shown in Fig. 5;

An apparatus for generating data for printing according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 7 of FIG. 1 .

1A is a schematic front view of an apparatus for generating data for printing according to this embodiment, and an ink application apparatus for performing drawing using the data for printing generated by the data generating apparatus for printing. A movable table 12 is supported by a moving mechanism 11 on a base 10 . An xyz orthogonal coordinate system is defined in which the x-axis and the y-axis are oriented horizontally and the z-axis is oriented vertically downward. The moving mechanism 11 is controlled by the control device 50, and moves the movable table 12 in two directions: the x-direction and the y-direction. As the movement mechanism 11, for example, an XY stage including the X-direction movement mechanism 11X and the Y-direction movement 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 y move in the direction

On the upper surface (supporting surface) of the movable table 12, a substrate 20 to be applied with ink is supported. The substrate 20 is fixed to the movable table 12 by, for example, a vacuum chuck. The moving mechanism 11 moves the substrate 20 supported by the movable table 12 in a direction parallel to the xy plane. Above the movable table 12 , the ink discharging unit 30 and the imaging device 40 are supported by, for example, a door-shaped support member 13 . The ink discharging unit 30 and the imaging device 40 are supported so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the base 10 . The ink discharging unit 30 has a plurality of nozzles facing the substrate 20 . Each nozzle forms and discharges photocurable (for example, ultraviolet curable) ink in droplets toward the surface of the substrate 20 . The discharge of ink is controlled by the control device 50 .

The imaging device 40 images the upper surface (surface to which ink is applied) of the substrate 20 . Of the upper surface of the substrate 20 , a region located within the range of the angle of view of the imaging device 40 is imaged by the imaging device 40 .

The control device 50 includes a storage unit 51 and a control unit 52 . In the storage unit 51, information (hereinafter referred to as image data) for designating a position where ink is to be applied is stored. The image data is constituted by a plurality of pixels each corresponding to a plurality of positions on the surface of the substrate 20 . By associating with each pixel the information designating the presence or absence of ink application, the pixel to which ink should land is designated. In this specification, the positions on the substrate each corresponding to a plurality of pixels of image data are simply referred to as "pixels" in some cases.

The control unit 52 controls the moving mechanism 11 and the ink discharging unit 30 based on the image data to make the ink reach 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 this specification, among the dots, the ink which arrived at one pixel is not continuous with the ink which arrived at the other pixel, and the thing which is isolated is called "isolated dot".

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

1B in FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the movable table 12, the ink discharging unit 30, and the imaging device 40 in a plan view. A substrate 20 is supported on the support surface of the movable table 12 . An ink discharging unit 30 and an imaging device 40 are supported above the substrate 20 . The ink discharging unit 30 includes an inkjet head 31 and a light source 33 for curing. A plurality of nozzles 32 are provided on a 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, for example, a dimension corresponding to a resolution of 600 dpi. However, 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 a position regularly shifted from the reference line parallel to the x direction in the y direction. For example, you may arrange|position in zigzag shape.

The curing light source 33 is disposed 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 a UV curable type, and the curing light source 33 irradiates the substrate 20 with UV light. The light source 33 for curing functions as a curing device for curing 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. In addition, the control device 50 controls the ejection of ink from each nozzle 32 of the inkjet head 31 .

By discharging ink from the inkjet head 31 while moving the substrate 20 in the y direction (in other words, while moving the inkjet head 31 relative to the substrate 20 in the y direction), with respect to the x direction For example, with a resolution of 600 dpi, ink can be applied to the substrate 20 . The ink which reached the board|substrate 20 is hardened|cured by the light radiated|emitted from the light source 33 for hardening located downstream of the moving direction of the board|substrate 20. As shown in FIG. An operation in which ink hits 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.

In one scan operation, the inkjet head 31 may be reciprocated at least once in the y-direction. At this time, by shifting the inkjet head 31 in the x-direction with respect to the substrate 20 by 1/2 of the pitch of the nozzles 32 in the forward and backward paths, the ink can land on the substrate 20 with a resolution of 1200 dpi. . By making the shift amount of the inkjet head 31 1/4 of the pitch of the nozzle 32, and making the inkjet head 31 reciprocate twice, ink can be made to reach the board|substrate 20 with the resolution of 2400 dpi. In this way, even when the inkjet head 31 is moved a plurality of times in the negative and positive directions of the y-axis in order to increase the resolution, the plurality of movements are collectively referred to as one scan operation.

The control device 50 moves the movable table 12 in the x direction when one scan operation is completed. In other words, the inkjet head 31 is relatively moved in the x direction with respect to the substrate 20 . This operation will be referred to as "shift operation". The x direction is called the shift direction. By repeating the scan operation and the shift operation, ink can be applied to the entire area of the substrate 20 . The relative movement amount of the inkjet head 31 in the x-direction with respect to the substrate 20 may be substantially equal to the distance between the two nozzles 32 positioned at both ends in the x-direction. However, when some nozzles 32 in the vicinity of both ends are not used for discharging ink, the relative movement amount of the inkjet head 31 in the x direction with respect to the substrate 20 is determined among the nozzles 32 actually used. What is necessary is just to make it substantially equal to the distance between the nozzles 32 located at both ends.

By performing a scan operation a plurality of times without performing a shift operation, it is possible to cause ink to strike a single pixel a plurality of times. That is, the ink can be applied overly. By overlapping the ink, the isolated dot can be made higher and the film can be made thicker.

When a scanning operation is performed in a state in which light is irradiated to the substrate 20 from the curing light source 33 , the ink discharged from the inkjet head 31 is temporarily cured immediately after it reaches the substrate 20 . Specifically, the ink is provisionally cured in a short period of time after the ink's impact, until the ink's impact point moves into the path of the light irradiated from the light source 33 for hardening. Until the ink is temporarily cured, the ink that has reached the substrate 20 diffuses in the in-plane direction of the substrate 20 . The degree of this diffusion depends on the degree of lyophilicity of the surface of the substrate 20 . After the ink is temporarily cured, diffusion of the ink in the in-plane direction of the substrate 20 does not occur.

2 : is a top view which shows the writing area|region which arrange|positions the pattern formed on the surface of the board|substrate 20. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a dot spacer used in a resistive touch panel is formed. Eight touch panels are multi-faceted on one board 20 . The surface to which the ink of the board|substrate 20 is to be apply|coated will be called the to-be-drawn surface 23. FIG. Corresponding to each of the eight touch panels, a square or rectangular drawing area 25 is defined on the drawing surface 23 . The four edges of the drawing surface 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 23 to be drawn is defined as the origin O of the xy coordinate system. In Fig. 2, the upper left vertex is defined as the origin O. In each of the drawing areas 25, a reference point 24 having a fixed position relative to the drawing area 25 is defined. 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 employed. In FIG. 2 , the upper left vertex of each surface 23 to be drawn serves as a reference point 24 . By designating the position of the reference point 24 in the xy coordinate system, the position of the drawing area 25 on the drawing surface 23 can be designated.

A pixel coordinate system is defined on the surface 23 to be drawn, and the positions of pixels arranged on the surface 23 to be drawn are designated by pixel coordinates. Among the plurality of pixels arranged on the surface 23 to be drawn, a 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 drawing surface 23 . When a position is designated in the xy coordinate system, the position can be mapped to one pixel in the pixel coordinate system.

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

An area to which ink can be applied in one scan operation is referred to as a pass area 21 . A plurality of path regions 21 are arranged side by side in the x-direction. In FIG. 2 , the entire area to be applied with ink on the drawing surface 23 is covered by the four pass areas 21 . However, the required number of pass regions 21 varies according to the size of the substrate 20 and the size of the inkjet head 31 .

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

3A of FIG. 3 is a figure which shows the drawing target surface 23 and the one drawing area|region 25 inside it. The upper left vertex of the surface 23 to be drawn corresponds to the origin O of the xy coordinate system. A drawing area 25 is arranged in the drawing target surface 23 . The drawing area 25 is divided into a peripheral portion 25A and an inner portion 25B. The area inside the drawing area 25 and outside the inner side 25B is the peripheral edge portion 25A. The upper left vertex of the peripheral edge portion 25A coincides with the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 . Let the upper left vertex of the inner part 25B be the reference point 24B of the inner part 25B.

Each of the drawing areas 25 constitutes one unit area 28 . The unit area 28 becomes a unit for generating the basic image data 90 (3B in Fig. 3) described below. As the reference point 29 serving as a reference point for designating the position of the unit area 28 on the drawing surface 23, the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 is employed.

3B of FIG. 3 is a chart showing various types of information included in drawing information. The drawing information set for one drawing area 25 includes the position of the drawing area 25 on the drawing surface 23 , the range of the drawing area 25 , and the ink in the drawing area 25 . Contains information specifying the distribution rule of the application position (dot). As information for designating the position of the drawing area 25, information for designating the position of the reference point 24 (3A in FIG. 3) of the drawing area 25 is used. As information for designating the range of the drawing area 25 , 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 ink application positions, the pitches (dot pitch) in the x and y directions of the dots disposed on the peripheral edge portion 25A, and the inner portion 25B with respect to the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 . ), information specifying the relative position of the reference point 24B, the dimensions in the x and y directions of the inner portion 25B, and dot pitches in the x and y directions of the inner portion 25B are used.

The printing data generating apparatus 60 (1A in Fig. 1) causes the user to input these information included in the drawing information. Further, the printing data generating device 60 generates the basic image data 90 based on information other than the position information of the reference point 24 of the drawing area 25 among the drawing information input by the user. The basic image data 90 is raster type image data composed of a plurality of pixels 70, and information designating whether or not ink is applied (whether or not a dot is arranged) is included in each of the plurality of pixels 70. is assigned

The printing data generating device 60 (1A in Fig. 1) provides a common basic image data 90 for a plurality of drawing areas 25 having the same information other than the position information of the reference point 24 among the drawing information. to create

4A and 4B are diagrams showing pixels 70 constituting two types of basic image data 90A and 90B, respectively, on a two-dimensional plane of a pixel coordinate system. The base image data 90A, 90B designates the positions of a plurality of dots 71 arranged in the corresponding unit regions 28 (3A in Fig. 3), respectively. In 4A and 4B of FIG. 4, the pixel 70 in which the dot 71 is arrange|positioned is painted black. The pixel 70 in which the dot 71 is arrange|positioned is simply called the dot 71 in some cases. In addition, in 4A and 4B of FIG. 4, hatching is put in 25 A of peripheral edge parts.

On the peripheral edge portion 25A and the inner portion 25B, a plurality of dots 71 are regularly arranged at equal pitches in the x-direction and the y-direction, respectively. In the example shown in 4A of FIG. 4, the pitch of the dots 71 arrange|positioned at the inner side part 25B is wider than the pitch of the dots 71 arrange|positioned at the peripheral edge part 25A. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, on the contrary, the pitch of the dots 71 arrange|positioned at the inner side part 25B is narrower than the pitch of the dots 71 arrange|positioned at the peripheral edge part 25A. However, the plurality of dots 71 may be arranged by a distribution rule other than the dot arrangement shown in 4A and 4B in FIG. 4 . For example, the plurality of dots 71 may be uniformly disposed over the entire unit region 28 .

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

The information defining the unit region 28 further includes information linking each of the plurality of unit regions 28 to either one of the basic image data 90A, 90B (hereinafter referred to as association information). include Associating the unit area 28 with the base image data means that one base image data among the plurality of base image data can be accessed from information designating each of the plurality of unit areas 28 . For example, as the association information, identification information for specifying one of a plurality of base image data, a pointer indicating an address in which the base image data is stored, or the like can be employed. In Fig. 5, the association between the unit region 28 and the base image data 90A, 90B is indicated by an arrow 91 pointing from any one of the base image data 90A, 90B to the unit region 28. . The positions of the plurality of dots arranged in each of the plurality of unit areas 28 are designated by the base image data 90A or 90B associated with the unit areas 28 .

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

Next, the excellent effect of the above embodiment will be described.

Usually, as the data for printing, raster image data generated for the entire area of the drawing surface 23 (FIG. 2) is used. In the present embodiment, one basic image data 90 (3B in Fig. 3) is generated for a plurality of unit regions 28 having the same dot pattern among the eight unit regions 28. As shown in Figs. The area of the unit region 28 as a target for designating the position of a dot in the basic image data 90 is smaller than the area of the entire surface 23 to be drawn. For this reason, the data capacity of the basic image data 90 is smaller than the data capacity of the raster-type image data generated for the entire area of the surface 23 to be drawn. In addition, the data capacity of the sum of the plurality of basic image data 90A and 90B included in the printing data 95 (Fig. 5) according to the embodiment is also shown in the raster format generated for the entire surface 23 to be drawn. It is smaller than the data capacity of image data.

Data for designating the position of the unit area 28 included in the print data 95 (FIG. 5), and information for associating the unit area 28 with any one of the plurality of base image data 90A, 90B The capacity is sufficiently small compared to the data capacity of the base image data 90A and 90B. For this reason, by generating the data for printing with the printing data generating apparatus 60 (1A in Fig. 1) according to the above embodiment, the data capacity of the printing data can be reduced.

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. Thus, compared to the case of using the data for printing, the generation time of the data for printing can be shortened.

Next, another excellent effect will be described with reference to FIG. 6 .

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of a plurality of unit regions 28 in the surface 23 to be drawn. 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 arrange|positioned at the position of the 1st line and 2nd row of a 1st column.

In the first and second path regions 21 from the left, two unit regions 28 are arranged, and in the third and fourth path regions 21, four unit regions 28 are arranged, have. In FIG. 6, the trajectory of the movement of the inkjet head 31 with respect to the board|substrate 20 is shown by the broken line with an arrow.

The control device 50 (1A in Fig. 1) has a unit area 28 arranged in the y direction for each path area 21 from the position of the reference point 29 and the base image data 90A, 90B. Find the range In the scanning operation, the inkjet head 31 does not scan the area in which the unit area 28 is not arranged. In the scanning operation, the moving distance of the inkjet head 31 is shortened as compared with the case of scanning the entire range in the y direction of the surface 23 to be drawn. Thereby, it becomes possible to shorten the ink application time.

Next, another excellent effect will be described with reference to FIG. 7 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement of the plurality of unit regions 28 in the surface 23 to be drawn. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the unit area 28 is not arrange|positioned at the position of the 2nd row of 1st column. In the scan operation, when the inkjet head 31 passes through a range in which the unit area 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 a broken 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, it becomes possible to shorten the ink application time.

Next, a modified example of the above embodiment will be described.

In the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 5, two base image data 90A and 90B are generated. However, when the dot patterns of the plurality of unit regions 28 are classified into three or more types, the base image data ( 90), three 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 to 9 of FIG. 8 . Hereinafter, the description of the configuration common to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1A to 5 will be omitted.

8A in Fig. 8A shows a plurality of drawing areas 25 and unit areas ( 28) is a diagram showing the positional relationship. Eight drawing areas 25 are arranged in a matrix of 4 rows and 2 columns. In 8A of FIG. 8, hatching is put in the drawing area|region 25. In FIG. Moreover, the same hatching is put in the drawing area|region 25 with the same dot pattern. The dot patterns of the unit regions 28 of the first and second rows are the same, and the dot patterns of the unit regions 28 of the third and fourth rows are the same. The dot pattern is different between the unit area 28 of the 1st row and the unit area 28 of the 3rd row.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1A to 5, one drawing area 25 constitutes one unit area 28 (Fig. 5). In contrast, in the present 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 in 8A of FIG. 8 .

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

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

9 is a diagram showing the trajectory of movement of the inkjet head 31 with respect to the substrate 20 when a dot pattern is formed by the ink application apparatus according to the present embodiment. In Fig. 9, the trajectory of the movement of the inkjet head 31 is indicated by a broken line with an arrow. The area to be applied with ink is covered with three pass areas 21 . The center 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.

Next, the excellent effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.

Also in this embodiment, similarly to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1A to 5, since one basic image data 90 is shared by a plurality of unit areas 28, the data capacity of the printing data can be reduced. can

In addition, the more excellent effect of this embodiment compared with the case where ink is apply|coated using the printing data 95 shown in FIG. 5 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the trajectory of movement of the inkjet head 31 when ink is applied using the printing data 95 shown in FIG. 5 . One drawing area 25 constitutes one unit area 28 . A reference point 29 is set for each unit area 28 . The ink application position within the unit area 28 is designated as a relative position with respect to the reference point 29 .

Therefore, the control device 50 (1A in Fig. 1) sets a different reference point when applying ink to the unit region 28 in the first row and when applying ink to the unit region 28 in the second row. Based on (29), the ink application position is determined. For this reason, it is difficult to simultaneously apply ink to the unit area 28 of the first column and the unit area 28 of the second column in one scan operation.

When the scan operation is performed on the second pass area 21 from the left, since ink is applied to a part of the unit area 28 of the first column, the unit area 28 of the second column with a different reference point 29 Ink cannot be applied to both surfaces at the same time. In order to apply ink to the unit area 28 of the second column, the third and fourth scan operations must be performed. For this reason, it is necessary to perform four scan operations in total.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, since two writing areas 25 arranged in the x direction are combined to form one unit area 28, the two writing areas arranged in the x direction are set as one unit area 28. One reference point (29) is associated with the region spanning (25). The control device 50 controls the inkjet head 31 based on this one reference point and one basic image data 90, so that the area spanning the two drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction is 1 Ink can be applied with a single scan operation. For this reason, ink can be applied to all the drawing areas 25 by three scan operations.

In this embodiment, compared with the case shown in Fig. 10, it becomes possible to reduce the number of times the scan operation is performed. As a result, it becomes possible to shorten the ink application time.

Next, a modified example of the embodiment shown in Figs. 8A to 9 will be described.

In the example shown in 8A of FIG. 8, the number of the writing areas 25 arranged in the x direction is two. When the number of writing areas 25 arranged in the x direction is three or more, three or more writing areas 25 arranged in the x direction may be combined to form one unit area 28 . In addition, when the number of drawing areas 25 arranged in the x direction is four or more, all the drawing areas 25 lined up in the x direction may be combined to form one unit area 28, or a plurality of drawing areas may be combined. The regions 25 may be combined to form one unit region 28 .

What is necessary is just to make the user designate the some drawing area|region 25 included in the one unit area 28 of the data generating apparatus 60 (1A of FIG. 1) for printing. For example, writing information (3B in Fig. 3) set for each drawing area 25 includes information for designating a unit area 28 including the drawing area 25 among a plurality of unit areas 28 you should do it

Each embodiment is an example, and it goes without saying that partial substitutions or combinations of configurations shown in other embodiments are possible. The same operation and effect due to the same configuration of the plurality of embodiments will not be separately mentioned for each embodiment. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, improvements, combinations, and the like are possible.

10 anticipation
11 moving mechanism
11X X direction movement mechanism
11Y Y direction movement mechanism
12 movable table
13 support member
20 board
21 pass area
23 Drawing surface
24 reference points
24B Inner reference point
25 drawing area
25A perimeter edge
25B inner side
28 unit area
29 Reference point of unit area
30 Ink discharge unit
31 inkjet head
32 nozzles
33 light source for curing
40 imaging device
50 control
51 memory
52 control
60 Print data generator
70 pixels
71 dots
90, 90A, 90B, 90C, 90D basic image data
91 arrow indicating association
95 data for printing

Claims (6)

A data generating device for printing that is provided to an ink applying device that discharges ink from an inkjet head to apply ink to a surface to be drawn, and generates printing data for designating an ink application position, the printing data generating device comprising:
The data for printing is
basic image data for designating an ink application position in each of a plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn;
position information for designating respective positions of the plurality of unit regions on the surface to be drawn;
and association information for associating each of the plurality of unit regions with any one of the plurality of base image data,
A printing data generating apparatus for generating the printing data by associating the common basic image data with respect to a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions in the unit area among the plurality of unit areas. According to claim 1,
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 for designating a position of a drawing area on the drawing surface, a range of a drawing area, and a distribution rule of ink application positions in the drawing area;
A data generating apparatus for printing which generates the basic image data based on the drawing information. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
The ink applying device performs a scanning operation of discharging ink while moving the inkjet head in a first direction with respect to the drawing surface at different positions with respect to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, respectively;
The plurality of writing areas are arranged in a matrix form in which the first direction and the second direction are respectively a row direction and a column direction,
A printing data generating apparatus for integrating a plurality of drawing areas arranged in the second direction into one unit area. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2,
A data generating apparatus for printing further comprising a function of designating, to a user, a plurality of drawing areas to be included in one unit area. An inkjet head for discharging ink into droplets;
Controlling an ink applying apparatus having a moving mechanism for moving one of the inkjet head and the substrate relative to the other by placing a substrate at a position opposite to the inkjet head;
A control device for applying ink to an ink application position on the drawing surface by controlling the inkjet head and the moving mechanism based on printing data for designating an ink application position on the drawing surface of the substrate,
The data for printing is
basic image data for designating an ink application position in each of a plurality of unit areas defined on the surface to be drawn;
and position information for designating each position of the plurality of unit regions on the surface to be drawn;
A control device in which, among the plurality of unit areas, a single piece of the basic image data in common is associated with a unit area having the same distribution of a plurality of ink application positions within the unit area. 6. The method of claim 5,
a scanning operation of discharging ink while moving the inkjet head in a first direction with respect to the surface to be drawn is performed at different positions with respect to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction,
A plurality of writing regions are defined in each of the plurality of unit regions, and the plurality of writing regions are arranged in a matrix form in which the first direction and the second direction are a row direction and a column direction, respectively;
A control device in which a plurality of drawing areas arranged in the second direction are integrated to form one unit area.

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