阅读说明：本技术 使用成像仪的喷射控制 (Injection control using imager ) 是由 克里斯托弗·R·豪夫 大卫·达罗 大卫·多诺万 于 2019-11-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种打印系统,其包括基板支撑件,面向所述基板支撑件放置的打印头组件,和成像仪。所述打印头组件包括在朝所述基板支撑件的喷射方向上延伸的多个分配喷嘴,以及多个标记。所述成像仪可相对于所述打印头组件移动,且朝向与喷射方向相反的方向,用以捕捉至少一个图像,所述图像包括指示所述打印头组件中的多个分配喷嘴位置的所述多个标记。(A printing system includes a substrate support, a printhead assembly positioned facing the substrate support, and an imager. The printhead assembly includes a plurality of dispensing nozzles extending in an ejection direction toward the substrate support, and a plurality of marks. The imager is movable relative to the printhead assembly and oriented in a direction opposite the jetting direction to capture at least one image including the plurality of marks indicative of a plurality of dispense nozzle locations in the printhead assembly.)

1. A printing system, characterized by comprising:

a substrate support;

a printhead assembly positioned facing the substrate support, the printhead assembly comprising:

a plurality of dispensing nozzles extending in a jetting direction toward the substrate support; and

a plurality of markers; and

an imager, wherein the printhead assembly and the imager are relatively movable and the imager is oriented in a direction opposite the jetting direction for capturing at least one image including the plurality of marks indicating positions of a plurality of dispensing nozzles in the printhead assembly.

2. The printing system of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller arranged to

Mapping locations of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly to corresponding locations of the printing system frame of reference, an

Controlling ejection of printing material from the plurality of dispensing nozzles based on mapped positions of the plurality of dispensing nozzles in the printing system frame of reference.

3. Printing system according to claim 2, characterized in that

The controller is arranged to

Detecting from at least one image captured by the imager

Said plurality of marks, and

at least one of the plurality of dispensing nozzles, an

Determining a location of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly,

based on the detected plurality of markings, and the detected at least one dispensing nozzle.

4. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the printing system is configured to print a print job on a print medium

The printhead assembly also includes a plurality of printhead markers having predetermined positions relative to the plurality of dispensing nozzles, an

The controller is arranged to

Detecting from at least one image captured by the imager

Said plurality of marks, and

said plurality of print head markers, an

Determining the position of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly

Based on the plurality of markers detected, the method may further comprise,

said plurality of detected print head markers, an

A predetermined position of the printhead assembly relative to the plurality of dispensing nozzles.

5. The printing system of claim 1, wherein the printing system is configured to print a print job on a print medium

The imager is secured to the substrate support, an

The printhead assembly is movable relative to the imager and the substrate support in a cross-scan direction and toward an image field of the imager such that the imager is capable of capturing the at least one image as the line scan imager passes over the printhead assembly.

6. Printing system according to claim 5, characterized in that

The plurality of dispensing nozzles are arranged in at least one row along the cross-scan direction, an

The imager is a line scan imager having a plurality of image sensors arranged as a single line along a scan direction perpendicular to the cross-scan direction.

7. The printing system of claim 6, further comprising:

a controller configured to control the line scan imager to capture at least one image covering all of the plurality of dispensing nozzles with a single pass of the line scan imager in a cross-scan direction of the printhead assembly.

8. A method of printing, comprising:

capturing, by an imager, at least one image of a plurality of marks in a printhead assembly;

detecting the plurality of markers in the at least one image captured by the imager;

determining a location of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly based on the detected plurality of marks; and

based on the detected positions of the plurality of dispensing nozzles, jetting printing material from the plurality of dispensing nozzles toward a substrate and moving the substrate relative to the printhead assembly.

9. The printing method according to claim 8, further comprising:

mapping the determined positions of the plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly to corresponding positions in a reference frame,

wherein the printing material is ejected from the plurality of dispensing nozzles based on their mapped positions in the frame of reference.

10. The printing method according to claim 8, further comprising:

detecting at least one dispensing nozzle of the plurality of dispensing nozzles from the at least one image captured by the imager,

wherein is based on

Said plurality of detected markers, an

The detected at least one of the dispensing nozzles,

determining a location of the plurality of dispensing nozzles in the printhead assembly.

11. The printing method according to claim 8, further comprising:

detecting, from the at least one image captured by the imager, a plurality of print head marks on the print head assembly, the plurality of print head marks having predetermined positions relative to the plurality of dispensing nozzles,

wherein is based on

The plurality of markers that are detected are,

said plurality of detected print head markers, an

The plurality of print heads mark predetermined positions relative to the plurality of dispensing nozzles,

the positions of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly are determined.

12. The printing method according to claim 8, wherein:

the imager captures the at least one image while moving the printhead assembly in a cross-scan direction.

13. The printing method according to claim 12, wherein:

the imager is a line scan imager having a plurality of image sensors arranged as a single line in a scanning direction perpendicular to the cross-scan direction,

the plurality of dispensing nozzles are arranged in at least one row along the cross-scan direction, an

The line scan imager makes a single pass through the printhead assembly in the cross-scan direction such that the line scan imager captures the at least one image.

14. A printing system, characterized by comprising:

a substrate support;

a printhead assembly positioned facing the substrate support, the printhead assembly comprising:

a plurality of dispensing nozzles extending in a jetting direction toward the substrate support; and

a plurality of first marks;

a first imager movable relative to the printhead assembly and oriented in a direction opposite the jetting direction for capturing at least one first image including the plurality of first marks indicative of positions of a plurality of dispensing nozzles in the printhead assembly;

a second imager movable relative to the substrate support and in a direction toward the substrate support for capturing at least one second image of a substrate on the substrate support; and

a controller to control ejection of printing material from the plurality of dispensing nozzles on the substrate based on the at least one first image and the at least one second image.

15. The printing system of claim 14, wherein:

the controller is further configured to

Detecting a plurality of second marks indicative of a print area on the substrate from the at least one second image captured by the second imager,

mapping locations of the print region indicated by the detected plurality of second marks to respective locations of the printing system frame of reference,

mapping the positions of the plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly to corresponding positions of the printing system frame of reference, an

Controlling ejection of printing material from the plurality of dispensing nozzles on the substrate based on the plurality of dispensing nozzles and the mapped position of the printing region in the printing system frame of reference.

16. The printing system of claim 14, wherein: the controller is arranged to

Detecting from the at least one first image captured by the first imager

The plurality of first marks, and

at least one of the dispensing nozzles of the plurality of dispensing nozzles, an

Determining the position of the plurality of dispensing nozzles in the printhead assembly

Based on the detected plurality of first markers, an

At least one of the dispensing nozzles is detected.

17. The printing system of claim 14, wherein:

the printhead assembly further includes a plurality of third indicia having predetermined positions relative to the plurality of dispensing nozzles, an

The controller is arranged to

Detecting from the at least one first image captured by the first imager

The plurality of first marks, and

the plurality of third marks, and

determining a location of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly,

based on the plurality of first markers detected,

the plurality of third markers detected, an

The plurality of third indicia are in predetermined positions relative to the plurality of dispensing nozzles.

18. The printing system of claim 14, wherein:

the first imager is secured to the substrate support, an

The printhead assembly is movable relative to the first imager and the substrate support in a cross-scan direction and is positionable in an image field of a first imager such that the first imager is capable of capturing the at least one first image as it passes the printhead assembly.

19. The printing system of claim 18, wherein:

the substrate support is configured to move the substrate under the second imager in a scan direction perpendicular to the cross-scan direction such that the second imager is capable of capturing the at least one second image as the substrate passes under the second imager.

20. The printing system of claim 19, wherein:

each of the first and second imagers is a line scan imager, and each has a plurality of image sensors,

all image sensors of the first line scan imager are arranged in a single line along the scan direction,

the plurality of dispensing nozzles are arranged in at least one row along the cross-scan direction, an

All image sensors of the second line scan imager are arranged in a single line along the cross-scan direction.

Technical Field

Particular embodiments of the present application relate generally to inkjet printing systems. In particular, the present application describes methods, systems, and/or apparatus for ejection control in an inkjet printing system.

Background

Inkjet printing is common in both office and home printers, as well as in industrial-scale printers for manufacturing displays, printing large-scale writing materials, adding materials to manufactured products (e.g., PCB's), and constructing biological products (e.g., tissues). Most commercial and industrial inkjet printers, as well as some consumer printers, use piezoelectric dispensers to apply printing material to a substrate. The piezoelectric material is disposed adjacent to the printing material container. The piezoelectric material is deformed by applying a voltage thereto, thereby applying a compressive force to a printing material container configured to eject the printing material when subjected to the compressive force.

Some inkjet printing applications rely on extremely precise positioning of the dispensing nozzle and/or the print substrate. In this regard, the present application is directed to methods, systems, and/or apparatus for controlling the ejection of printing material in an inkjet printer.

Disclosure of Invention

In one embodiment, a printing system includes a substrate support, a printhead assembly facing the substrate support, and an imager. The printhead assembly includes a plurality of dispensing nozzles and a plurality of marks extending in a jetting direction toward the substrate support. The imager is movable relative to the printhead assembly and in a direction opposite the jetting direction for capturing at least one image including a plurality of marks indicative of positions of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly.

In a printing method according to one embodiment, an imager captures an image of at least one of a plurality of marks of a printhead assembly. Detecting the plurality of markers in at least one image captured by the imager. Determining a location of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly based on the detected plurality of marks. Printing material is ejected from the plurality of dispensing nozzles onto a substrate while moving the substrate relative to the printhead assembly based on the detected position of the plurality of dispensing nozzles.

In one embodiment, a printing system includes a substrate support, a printhead assembly positioned toward the substrate support, a first imager, a second imager, and a controller. The printhead assembly includes a plurality of dispensing nozzles extending in a jetting direction toward the substrate support, and a plurality of first marks. The first imager is movable relative to the printhead assembly and toward a direction opposite the jetting direction to capture at least one first image including the plurality of first indicia indicative of a plurality of dispense nozzle locations in the printhead assembly. The second imager is movable relative to and in a direction of the substrate support to capture at least one second image of a substrate on the substrate support. The controller is configured to control the ejection of printing material from the plurality of dispensing nozzles on the substrate based on the at least one first image and the at least one second image.

In one embodiment, a flat panel display is manufactured by a printing method in which an imager captures at least one image of a plurality of marks in a printhead assembly. The plurality of markers are detected in at least one image captured by the line scan imager. Determining a location of a plurality of dispense nozzles in the printhead assembly based on the detected plurality of marks. Printing material is ejected from the plurality of dispensing nozzles onto a substrate while moving the substrate relative to the printhead assembly based on the detected position of the plurality of dispensing nozzles.